Word Direct Answers

What does "tang" mean?

Tang: A strong or offensive taste; especially, a taste of something extraneous to the thing itself; as, wine or cider has a tang of the cask.

Additional senses

  1. 2.Fig.: A sharp, specific flavor or tinge. Cf. Tang a twang. Such proceedings had a strong tang of tyranny. Fuller. A cant of philosophism, and a tang of party politics. Jeffrey.
  2. 3.Etym: [Probably of Scand. origin; cf. Icel. tangi a projecting point; akin to E. tongs. See Tongs.] A projecting part of an object by means of which it is secured to a handle, or to some other part; anything resembling a tongue in form or position. Specifically: -- (a) The part of a knife, fork, file, or other small instrument, which is inserted into the handle. (b) The projecting part of the breech of a musket barrel, by which the barrel is secured to the stock. (c) The part of a sword blade to which the handle is fastened. (d) The tongue of a buckle. [Prov. Eng.]
  3. 4.A sharp, twanging sound; an unpleasant tone; a twang.
  4. 5.To cause to ring or sound loudly; to ring. Let thy tongue tang arguments of state. Shak. To tang bees, to cause a swarm of bees to settle, by beating metal to make a din.
  5. 6.To make a ringing sound; to ring. Let thy tongue tang arguments of state. Shak.

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