Link Centre Dictionary

pang

UK/ˈpæŋ/ US/ˈpʰæŋ/ uncommon

noun

1.

a sudden sharp feeling

  • “pangs of regret”
  • “she felt a stab of excitement”
  • “twinges of conscience”
Synonyms
2.

a mental pain or distress

  • “a pang of conscience”
Synonyms
3.

Origin

The origin of the noun is uncertain; it is possibly derived from Middle English *pange, perhaps an altered form of prange, prōnge (“affliction, agony, pain; pointed instrument”) as in prongys of deth (“pangs of death, death throes”), from Anglo-Latin pronga, of unknown origin. Perhaps connected with Middle Dutch prange, pranghe (“instrument for pinching”) (modern Dutch prang (“horse restraint; fetter, neck iron”)), Middle Low German prange (“pole, stake; (possibly) kind of pillory or stocks”), Old English pyngan (“to prick”). The word may thus be related to prong. The verb is derived from the noun.

Phrases

  • birth pang
  • birth pangs
  • breast pang
  • hunger pang
  • hunger pangs
  • pang of conscience

Related words

Word family

Broader terms

Narrower terms

WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.