dung

American  

[duhng] / dʌŋ /

noun

1. excrement, especially of animals; manure.

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verb (used with object)

dungs, present (3rd person singular) dunged, past participle, past dunging present participle

1. to manure (ground) with or as if with dung.

dung British  

/ dʌŋ /

noun

1. 1. excrement, esp of animals; manure

   2. ( as modifier )

      dung cart

2. something filthy

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verb

1. (tr) to cover (ground) with manure

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• dungy
  adjective

Conjugated Forms

Present

• has dunged
  perfect 3rd person singular
• have dunged
  perfect
• has been dunging
  perfect progressive 3rd person singular
• are dunging
  progressive
• is dunging
  progressive 3rd person singular
• have been dunging
  perfect progressive
• am dunging
  progressive 1st person singular
• dunging
  participle
• dungs
  singular 3rd person

Past

• had dunged
  perfect
• were dunging
  progressive plural
• was dunging
  progressive singular
• dunged
  participle
• had been dunging
  perfect progressive
• dunged
  simple

Future

• will dung
  simple
• will have dunged
  perfect
• will be dunging
  progressive
• will have been dunging
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of dung

before 1000; Middle English, Old English; cognate with Low German, German dung; compare Icelandic dyngja heap, dung, Swedish dynga dung, muck, Old High German tunga manuring

Explanation

Dung means animal droppings or waste. If you work at an elephant sanctuary, you're likely to spend a lot of time shoveling up elephant dung. Dung is a tidy word for an untidy substance — animal poop. When farmers talk about cow dung or chicken dung, they'll probably call it manure instead. Some dung causes problems, like the runoff of pig dung into lakes and rivers, while other dung is used to help fertilize vegetable gardens. Dung is an Old English word, from a Germanic root — in Old High German, a tung was an underground room that was covered with dung for warmth.

Related Words

• droppings
• feces
• manure
• poop