sang
Ginseng; the root mountain folks dig and sell.
Also called 'seng, ginseng.
Updated September 24, 2026
sang pronunciation
/sang/
Meaning
Appalachian short form of ginseng. Diggers hunt sang in rich coves the way other folks hunt deer, then dry the roots and sell them. Families talk about going out sangin' in the fall. Same plant as American ginseng, just named the mountain way.
How folks use it
- “Daddy spent October diggin' sang up on the ridge.”
- “That four-prong sang root brought a good price at the buyer.”
Origin and etymology
Clipping of ginseng, long used in Southern Appalachia. Travel writers in the 1800s already noted mountain people "digging sang." The root was a cash crop sold toward Chinese markets. Related talk includes sangin' (hunting it) and 'seng as another short form.
Frequently asked questions
Is this the past tense of sing?
Same spelling, different word. In mountain talk, sang usually means ginseng, not a song you sang yesterday.