The term bong referring to a device used for smoking substances is a relatively recent addition to the English language. It was first introduced in the early 1970s by Vietnam War veterans who adopted it from the Thai word baung, which described a bamboo smoking instrument. Bongs have been used in South Asia for centuries prior to its introduction to English; baung is believed to have originated from a previous word meaning “strip of wood”. By the late 1970s, the term had become widely accepted. Additionally, bong can also mean a bell sound, a usage dating back to 1918, and is derived from the sound itself. Another newer definition of bong in the realm of mountaineering refers to a metal peg used for climbing, and this meaning is also based on the sound the peg makes when driven into stone.
