Thronging
/ˈθrɒŋ.ɪŋ/noun
Present participle of throng: moving or gathering in a densely packed crowd.
Did you know?The English word throng is ancient Germanic, and its deeper root is tied to the idea of pressure and compression—language preserving the feeling of bodies packed so tightly they become one force.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*trenk-
“to press, squeeze, or crowd (reconstructed root behind Germanic forms)”
Proto-Germanic
PGmc
*thrangjaną
“to press, crowd, or force tightly”
Old English
OE
þrang
“a crowd; pressure; narrowness”
Middle English
ME
throngen
“to press, crowd, or push together”
Modern English
English
thronging
“crowding or gathering densely in a mass”