dong (thing)

(of echoic origin) A loud, deep tolling sound, as of a large bell or gong.

While the origin of this word is unknown, it is perhaps from a nonsense poem by Edward Lear called "The Dong with a Luminous Nose," first published in Laughable Lyrics in 1877. Known historic usages of this meaning include American Speech V (p. 390) in 1930, in John Steinbeck's The Grapes of Wrath in 1939 ("Tell 'em ya dong's growed sence you los' your eye."), and in a supplement to Eric Partridge's A Dictionary of Slang and Unconventional English (p. 1124/2) in 1961 ("Three Canadian terms for 'penis'...are dink, dong, hammer.").