-ing

¹ American  

1. a suffix of nouns formed from verbs, expressing the action of the verb or its result, product, material, etc. (the art of building; a new building; cotton wadding ). It is also used to form nouns from words other than verbs (offing; shirting ). Verbal nouns ending in -ing are often used attributively (the printing trade ) and in forming compounds (drinking song ). In some compounds (sewing machine ), the first element might reasonably be regarded as the participial adjective, -ing2, the compound thus meaning “a machine that sews,” but it is commonly taken as a verbal noun, the compound being explained as “a machine for sewing.”

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-ing ² American  

1. a suffix forming the present participle of verbs (walking; thinking ), such participles being often used as participial adjectives: warring factions.

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-ing ³ American  

1. a native English suffix meaning “one belonging to,” “of the kind of,” “one descended from,” and sometimes having a diminutive force, formerly used in the formation of nouns: farthing; shilling; bunting; gelding; whiting.

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-ing ¹ British  

suffix

1. (from verbs) the action of, process of, result of, or something connected with the verb

   coming

   meeting

   a wedding

   winnings

2. (from other nouns) something used in, consisting of, involving, etc

   tubing

   soldiering

3. ( from other parts of speech )

   an outing

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-ing ² British  

suffix

1. forming the present participle of verbs

   walking

   believing

2. forming participial adjectives

   a growing boy

   a sinking ship

3. forming adjectives not derived from verbs

   swashbuckling

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-ing ³ British  

suffix

1. a person or thing having a certain quality or being of a certain kind

   sweeting

   whiting

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Pronunciation

The common suffix -ing2 can be pronounced in modern English as either or , with either the velar nasal consonant , symbolized in IPA as [ŋ], or the alveolar nasal consonant , symbolized in IPA as [n]. The pronunciation therefore reflects the use of one nasal as against another and not, as is popularly supposed, “dropping the g, ” since no actual g -sound is involved. Many speakers use both pronunciations, depending on the speed of utterance and the relative formality of the occasion, with considered the more formal variant. For some educated speakers, especially in the southern United States and Britain, is in fact the more common pronunciation, while for other educated speakers, is common in virtually all circumstances. In response to correction from perceived authorities, many American speakers who would ordinarily use at least some of the time make a conscious effort to say , even in informal circumstances.

Etymology

Origin of -ing¹

Middle English; Old English -ing, -ung

Origin of -ing²

Middle English -ing, -inge ; the variant -in (usually represented in spelling as -inʾ ) continues Middle English -inde, -ende, Old English -ende

Origin of -ing³

Middle English, Old English -ing, cognate with Old Norse -ingr, -ungr, Gothic -ings

Example Sentences

Economists at ING doubt there will be much to cheer about, expecting data on property prices to show that the declines continued through year-end.

From The Wall Street Journal

ING analyst Muhammet Mercan forecasts a rate cut of 150 basis points, although he notes there is a possibility that the reduction will be lower than this, potentially only of 100 basis points.

From The Wall Street Journal

However, investment funds have already reduced their net short in TTF to 55.14 terawatt hours from 92.76 terawatt hours in mid-December, according to ING commodity strategists.

From The Wall Street Journal

“While risks have eased somewhat, they remain significant, keeping the market nervous in the short term,” ING analysts said.

From The Wall Street Journal

“The Chinese have caught up in manufacturing, and we’ve been overtaken in AI,” says Carsten Brzeski, Frankfurt-based global head of macro at ING Research.

From Barron's

Related Words

• computer-generated
• virtual