❓ An unknown object 🧒 A body part

thingy

4 9.1

A childish word for a part of the body when you avoid the real name

noun
/ˈθɪŋi/

Baby Talk

: cosita

Anyway... remember I was telling you I went to this orientation mixer thingy?
little thingy

It's not giving me the weird awkward hip thingy a little bit.

Autoplay Next

Examples

This is the result of several push ups and that new ab thingy.

The Haunted World of El Superbeasto (2009)
Is this a dog's thingy?

The Love Guru (2008)
Just wish he had a bigger, you know, thingy.

America's Sweethearts (2001)
Just unplug the cable thingy and then plug it back in again.

Jem and the Holograms (2015)
We eventually got over it, got some mirrors, helmets, and that yellow vest thingy.

Blog text (23)
Ah, my claw thingy!

Kung Fu Panda 3 (2016)
It's my toothbrush thingy.

Last Chance Harvey (2008)
Can you pass me that thingy for my foot? I can't remember what it's called.
He has a little thingy on his wrist that tracks his steps.
I couldn't find the name of the thingy that holds the curtain in place.

Surface Forms

thingy singular

thingies plural

Morphology

thingy = thing (transparent) = thing + y

Formed by the productive colloquial suffix '-y' added to 'thing', giving an informal or diminutive reference that learners can derive from 'thing'.

Etymology

Thingy is made from the simple word thing plus the little ending -y, and -y gives a word a 'small' or 'friendly' feel. Children often use thingy for a body part when they do not want to say the real name, so it is an easy, gentle word for private parts.