Gang

n. [ Icel. gangr a going, gang, akin to AS., D., G., & Dan. gang a going, Goth. gaggs street, way. See Gang, v. i. ] 1. A going; a course. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

2. A number going in company; hence, a company, or a number of persons associated for a particular purpose; a group of laborers under one foreman; a squad; as, a gang of sailors; a chain gang; a gang of thieves. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. A combination of similar implements arranged so as, by acting together, to save time or labor; a set; as, a gang of saws, or of plows. [ 1913 Webster ]

4. (Naut.) A set; all required for an outfit; as, a new gang of stays. [ 1913 Webster ]

5. [ Cf. Gangue. ] (Mining) The mineral substance which incloses a vein; a matrix; a gangue. [ 1913 Webster ]

6. A group of teenagers or young adults forming a more or less formalized group associating for social purposes, in some cases requiring initiation rites to join; as, a teen gang; a youth gang; a street gang. Youth gangs often associate with particular areas in a city, and may turn violent when they feel their territory is encroached upon. In Los Angeles the Crips and the Bloods are large gangs antagonistic to each other. [ PJC ]

7. A group of persons organized for criminal purposes; a criminal organization; as, the Parker gang. [ PJC ]

Gang board, or
Gang plank. (Naut.) (a) A board or plank, with cleats for steps, forming a bridge by which to enter or leave a vessel. (b) A plank within or without the bulwarks of a vessel's waist, for the sentinel to walk on. --
Gang cask, a small cask in which to bring water aboard ships or in which it is kept on deck. --
Gang cultivator,
Gang plow, a cultivator or plow in which several shares are attached to one frame, so as to make two or more furrows at the same time. --
Gang days, Rogation days; the time of perambulating parishes. See Gang week (below). --
Gang drill, a drilling machine having a number of drills driven from a common shaft. --
Gang master, a master or employer of a gang of workmen. --
Gang plank. See Gang board (above). --
Gang plow. See Gang cultivator (above). --
Gang press, a press for operating upon a pile or row of objects separated by intervening plates. --
Gang saw, a saw fitted to be one of a combination or gang of saws hung together in a frame or sash, and set at fixed distances apart. --
Gang tide. See Gang week (below). --
Gang tooth, a projecting tooth. [ Obs. ] Halliwell. --
Gang week, Rogation week, when formerly processions were made to survey the bounds of parishes. Halliwell. --
Live gang, or
Round gang, the Western and the Eastern names, respectively, for a gang of saws for cutting the round log into boards at one operation. Knight. --
Slabbing gang, an arrangement of saws which cuts slabs from two sides of a log, leaving the middle part as a thick beam. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. a temporary bridge for getting on and off a vessel at dockside.
Syn. -- gangplank, gang plank, gangway. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

n. criminal organizations, collectively.
Syn. -- organized crime, gangland. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Ganged p. pr. & vb. n. Ganging ] [ Of uncertain origin. ] 1. To protect (the part of a line next a fishhook, or the hook itself) by winding it with wire. [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]

2. To attach (a fishhook) to a line or snell, as by knotting the line around the shank of the hook. [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]

n. One who oversees a gang of workmen. [ R. ] Mayhew. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Pertaining to, or inhabiting, the Ganges River; as, the Gangetic shark. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. (Bot.) The common English milkwort (Polygala vulgaris), so called from blossoming in gang week. Dr. Prior. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ Etymol. uncertain. ] A short line attached to a trawl. See Trawl, n.