gang

going, journey, passage

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Three coordinated burglars work together at a forced-open jewelry display: one pries the case, another transfers jewelry into a sack, and a third keeps lookout.

noun / verb

gang

GANG/ɡæŋ/

A group of people associating or joining together for a shared purpose.

Etymology

gangOld Englishgoing, journey, passage

The “going” sense probably developed through sets of things taken together when going somewhere, then companies of workers. Bands of people traveling together supplied the bridge to the disapproving sense of a criminal group.

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Related word entries

gang
gangway