thing

A Germanic assembly, by Charles Rochussen

A thing, also known as a folkmoot, assembly, tribal council, and by other names, was a governing assembly in early Germanic society, made up of the free people of the community presided over by a lawspeaker. Things took place regularly, usually at prominent places accessible by travel. They provided legislative functions, as well as social events and trade opportunities. In modern usage, the meaning of this word in English and other languages has shifted to mean not just an assemblage of some sort but also simply an object of any kind. Thingstead (Old English: þingstede) or thingstow (Old English: þingstōw) is the English term for the location where a thing was held.