Dang
/dæŋ/noun
A mild euphemistic exclamation expressing annoyance, surprise, or disappointment.
Did you know?Dang is generally understood as a euphemistic alteration of “damn,” reflecting the long-standing practice of changing taboo words to make them socially safer to say.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*dap-
“To apportion or distribute; a proposed ancestral source connected with Latin legal and financial vocabulary.”
Classical Latin
Latin
damnum
“Loss, injury, or legal damage.”
Old French
Old French
dam
“Harm, loss, or condemnation; descended from Latin damnum.”
Old English to Middle English
English
dampen / damnen
“To condemn or pronounce a person under religious or legal judgment; related to the later verb “damn.””
16th–17th Century
English
damn
“A strong oath or imprecation invoking condemnation; later also an emphatic expression.”
Late 18th Century
English
dang
“A softened or altered form of “damn,” used as a mild exclamation.”