orthography - "Thingy" or "thingie"?


I heard "thingy/thingie" very often to refer to "a something". However, I observe it written either way and I don't know what is the correct form.


Dictionary.com redirects "thingie" to "thingy", where the article says:



thingy


[thing-ee]


noun, plural thingies.



  1. Facetious. any small item whose name is unknown or forgotten.


adjective



  1. of, relating to, or characteristic of inanimate objects.



Then, the Urban Dictionary mentions both: thingy and thingie



thingie


n. a non-specific term for anything


thingy


Used to describe an object on the spur of the moment when you have a sudden brain fritz and forget exactly what you were gonna say was.



And Wordreference does not find any of them.


What is, then, the proper way to write it?



Answer



Both forms are correct; thingy appears to be the more common form as shown below.


-ie (suffix):




  • alternative spelling of -y; now mostly of -y (3), but formerly of others. (Etymonline)



Ngram thingy vs thingie


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