Idioms for hang
Origin of hang
before 900; fusion of 3 verbs: (1) Middle English, Old English
hōn to hang (transitive), cognate with Gothic
hāhan, orig.
*haghan; (2) Middle English
hang(i)en, Old English
hangian to hang (intransitive), cognate with German
hangen; (3) Middle English
henge < Old Norse
hengja (transitive), cognate with German
hängen to hang
synonym study for hang
4.
Hang,
lynch have in common the meaning of “to put to death,” but lynching is not always by hanging.
Hang, in the sense of execute, is in accordance with a legal sentence, the method of execution being to suspend by the neck until dead. To
lynch, however, implies the summary putting to death, by any method, of someone charged with a flagrant offense (though guilt may not have been proved). Lynching is done by private persons, usually a mob, without legal authority.
26. depend, rely, rest, hinge.
usage note for hang
Hang has two forms for the past tense and past participle,
hanged and
hung. The historically older form
hanged is now used exclusively in the sense of causing or putting to death:
He was sentenced to be hanged by the neck until dead. In the sense of legal execution,
hung is also quite common and is standard in all types of speech and writing except in legal documents. When legal execution is not meant,
hung has become the more frequent form:
The prisoner hung himself in his cell.
OTHER WORDS FROM hang
Words nearby hang
handyperson,
hane,
hanefiyeh,
hanepoot,
hanford,
hang,
hang a left,
hang about,
hang around,
hang back,
hang behind
British Dictionary definitions for hang tough
hang
/ (hæŋ) /
verb hangs, hanging or hung (hʌŋ)
noun
See also
hang about,
hang back,
hang behind,
hang in,
hang on,
hang out,
hang together,
hang up,
hang with
Word Origin for hang
Old English
hangian; related to Old Norse
hanga, Old High German
hangēn
Idioms and Phrases with hang tough
hang tough
Remain firmly resolved, as in We're going to hang tough on this point and not give in. This slangy idiom uses tough in the sense of “aggressively unyielding,” a usage dating from the first half of the 1900s.