From WordNet (r) 2.0 (August 2003) [wn]:
gang
n 1: an association of criminals; "police tried to break up the
gang"; "a pack of thieves" [syn: pack, ring, mob]
2: an informal body of friends; "he still hangs out with the
same crowd" [syn: crowd, crew, bunch]
3: an organized group of workmen [syn: crew, work party]
4: tool consisting of a combination of implements arranged to
work together
v : act as an organized group [syn: gang up]
From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:
Gang \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.]
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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.
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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.
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4. (Naut.) A set; all required for an outfit; as, a new gang
of stays.
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5. [Cf. Gangue.] (Mining) The mineral substance which
incloses a vein; a matrix; a gangue.
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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.
Note: 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] gangboard
From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:
Gang \Gang\ (g[a^]ng), v. i. [AS. gangan, akin to OS. & OHG.
gangan, Icel. ganga, Goth. gaggan; cf. Lith. [zdot]engti to
walk, Skr. ja[.n]gha leg. [root]48. Cf. Go.]
To go; to walk.
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Note: Obsolete in English literature, but still used in the
North of England, and also in Scotland.
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