Etymology Dictionary

TANG (1),  a strong or offensive taste, esp. of something extraneous.  (Du.)   'It is said of the best oil that it hath no tast, that is, no tang, but the natural gust of oil therein;' Fuller, Worthies, England (R.)   M.E. tongge, 'scharpnesse of lycure in tastynge;' Prompt. Parv.   Suggested by O. Du. tanger, 'sharpe, or tart upon the tongue; tangere kaese, tart or byting cheese;' Hexham.   The lit. sense of tanger is 'pinching.'—Du. tang, a pair of tongs, pincers, nippers; cognate with E. tongs; see Tongs, and Tang (3).   Cf. M.H.G. zanger, sharp, sharp-tasted.

TANG (2),  to make a shrill sound.  (E.)   Shak. has it both as sb. and verb.   'A tongue with a tang,' i.e. with a shrill sound, Temp. ii. 2. 52.   'Let thy tongue tang,' i.e. ring out; Tw. Nt. ii. 5. 163, iii. 4. 78.   An imitative word, allied to ting, whence the frequentative tingle; also to tink, whence the frequent, tinkle.   Cf. Prov. ting-tang, the saints-bell; tingle-tangle, a small bell, which occurs in Randolph's Amintas (1640); Halliwell.   So also O. Du. tinge-tangen, to tinkle; Hexham.   Cf. F. tantan (= tang-tang), 'the bell that hangs about the neck of a cow;' Cot.   See Tingle, Tinker, Twang.

TANG (3),  the part of a knife which goes into the haft, the tongue of a buckle, the prong of a fork.  (Scand.)   See Halliwell; who cites:  'A tange of a knyfe, piramus,' from a MS. Dict. abt. 1500.   It also means a bee's sting.   'Pugio, a tange;' Wright's Voc. p. 221.   'Tongge of a bee, Aculeus; Tongge of a knyfe, Pirasmus;' Prompt. Parv.—Icel. tangi, a spirt or projection of land; the pointed end by which the blade of a knife is driven into the handle, allied to töng (gen. tangar), a smith's tongs; tengja, to fasten.   So called because it is the part nipped and held fast by the handle; so the tongue of a buckle (corrupted from tang of a buckle) nips and holds fast the strap; the bee's sting nips or stings.   The form tong in the Prompt. Parv. answers to the sing. of E. tongs.   See Tongs.

TANG (4),  sea-weed; see Tangle.