wong

IPA/wˈʌŋɡ/
KK[wˈɔŋ]IPA/wˈɔːŋ/

wong — noun

1. a piece of open land, especially one used for growing grass for animals to eat o

1.nounC2
Definition

a piece of open land, especially one used for growing grass for animals to eat or for planting crops — an old word no longer used in everyday English

Example

The old map showed a wong where the village now stands.

archaic register; used in historical contexts

Medieval farmers worked the wong from dawn until sunset.

Common collocations
  • wong of land
  • three wongs
  • beyond the wong
Synonyms
  • field

    the standard modern word for an area of open land, especially farmland

  • meadow

    focuses on grassland used for hay or grazing

  • pasture

    implies land where animals graze

Usage Note

Only found in very old texts (before 1500). Modern readers encounter this word mainly in historical place names such as Wonga Park (Australia).

Common Mistakes

I walked across the wong to get to school.
I walked across the field to get to school.
'wong' is no longer used in modern English; use 'field' or 'meadow' instead.

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

All three words describe open land, but they are not identical in use. Field is the broadest modern term — it can refer to any area of open land, especially one used for farming or sports. Meadow suggests a grassy field where hay grows naturally or is grown for hay, often with wildflowers. Pasture is specifically land where cattle, sheep, or horses graze. Wong, now obsolete, covered all of these meanings in Old and Middle English but fell out of use by the 16th century. Example: 'The sheep were led to the pasture for the morning' (grazing land), whereas 'The children played in the field after school' (general open space).

field ↗meadow ↗pasture ↗

Common collocations

Nouns

  • wong of land

Phrases

  • three wongs
  • acres of wong

Prepositions

  • beyond the wong
  • in the wong

Etymology

Old EnglishMiddle EnglishEnglish

From Old English 'wong, wang' meaning field or plain. Related words exist in other ancient Germanic languages: Old High German 'wang' (field), Old Norse 'vangr' (garden or field), and Gothic 'wangs'. The word was common in Middle English but gradually disappeared from everyday use by the early modern period, surviving mainly in place names.