(n): the general state of things; the combination of circumstances at a given time
(n): an action
(n): something done (usually as opposed to something said)
(n): a special abstraction
(n): a concept or idea not associated with any specific instance
(n): an artifact
(n): a man-made object taken as a whole
(n): an event
(n): an event that happens
(n): a vaguely specified concern
(n): something that interests you because it is important or affects you
(n): a statement regarded as an object
(n): a message that is stated or declared; a communication (oral or written) setting forth particulars or facts etc
(n): an entity that is not named specifically
(n): that which is perceived or known or inferred to have its own distinct existence (living or nonliving)
(n): any attribute or quality considered as having its own existence
(n): an abstraction belonging to or characteristic of an entity
(n): a special objective
(n): the goal intended to be attained (and which is believed to be attainable)
(n): a persistent illogical feeling of desire or aversion
(n): the experiencing of affective and emotional states
(n): a separate and self-contained entity
(n): an entity that has physical existence
Here is how the joke goes at our home:
The Chinese fellow was asked by his colleagues how it came about that his name is Kowalski. He explained that when his grandfather came off the boat, the guy in front of him was a big Polack. And when grandfather was asked what his name was, he told the man it was Sam Ting.
Our family lore tells a different story:
Q: Why are so many Swedes named Sam Ting?
A: Because ven dee first Svede got of da boat, da man asked his name and da Svede said "Yon Yonson. Den, ven he asks da next Svede, he says "Sam-a Ting." And so on.
Even this one gets WeirdNetted.
From wikipedia:
A thing or ting (Old Norse and Icelandic: þing; other modern Scandinavian languages: ting) was the governing assembly in Germanic societies, made up of the free people of the community and presided by lawspeakers. The English word 'thing', meaning "object" is also derived from this; the semantic evolution having been roughly "assembly" → "court" → "case" → "business" → "purpose" → "object".
The national parliaments of Iceland, Norway and Denmark all have names that incorporate thing:
* Althing - The Icelandic "General Thing"
* Folketing - The Danish "People's Thing"
* Storting - The Norwegian "Great Thing"
The parliaments of the self-governing territories of Åland, Faroe Islands, Greenland, and Isle of Man also have names that refer to thing.
* Lagting - The Ålandic "Law Thing"
* Løgting - The Faroese "Law Thing"
* Landsting - The Greenlandic "Land Thing"
* Tynwald - The Manx "Thing Meadow"
Similarly, prior to 1953, the Danish parliamentary system was the Rigsdag, which comprised the two houses of the Folketing (People's Thing) and the Landsting (Land Thing). The former, which was reserved for people of means, was abolished by the constitution of 1953.
The Norwegian parliament, Storting, is divided into two chambers named the Lagting and the Odelsting, which translates loosely into the Thing of the Law and the Thing of the Lords. On the lower administrative level the governing bodies on the county level in Norway are called Fylkesting, the Thing of the County.
In Norway and Sweden there exist own administrative bodies with limited autonomy for the Sami people minorities. It is called the Sameting, the Thing of the Sami, in both countries.