-ing

-ing

See also: ing, Ing, ING, -ing-, ing., Ing., and -ïng

English

Alternative forms

• -in', -in (colloquial)
• -ïng (rare or nonstandard)

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɪŋ/, /ɪn/, /ən/
• (UK) (southern North West England, northern West Midlands, Derbyshire, South Yorkshire, Kent) IPA^(key): /ɪŋɡ/[1]
• (UK) (Kent) IPA^(key): /ɪŋk/, /ɪŋɡ/
• (US and Canada, sometimes) IPA^(key): /in/, /iŋ/
• (US, Canada) Homophone: een (some dialects)[2]
• (UK, General Australian) Homophone: ink (some dialects)

Etymology 1

From Middle English -ing, from Old English -ing, -ung (“-ing”, suffix forming nouns from verbs), from Proto-West Germanic *-ingu, *-ungu, from Proto-Germanic *-ingō, *-ungō. Cognate with Saterland Frisian -enge (“-ing”), West Frisian -ing (“-ing”), Dutch -ing (“-ing”), Low German -ing, -ink (“-ing”), German -ung (“-ing”), Swedish -ing (“-ing”), Icelandic -ing (“-ing”).

Suffix

-ing

1. Used to form nouns or noun-like words (or elements of noun phrases) from verbs, denoting the act of doing something, an action, or the embodiment of an action.
   1. As true nouns.

      My hearing is not good.

      I have had several meetings with him.

   2. As gerunds.

      Smoking is bad for your health.

      She has a habit of sleeping late.

      I like meeting people.

2. Used to form nouns denoting materials or systems of objects which are used or employed in an action, or considered collectively.

   Roofing is material that is used to roof.

   Clothing is material with which one is clothed.

   The piping is a system of pipes considered collectively.

Usage notes

Compare -tion, which can be applied to some (Latinate) nouns with almost the same meaning:

the activating of the weapon must be stopped

the act of activating the weapon must be stopped

the activation of the weapon must be stopped

In the first and third phrases the words in bold are nouns, while in the second phrase the word in bold is a gerund and the noun is act, cognate with action.

There was formerly a tendency for the final vowel of a word to contract when this suffix was added; hence carrying /ˈkæɹ(j)ɪŋ/, /ˈkæɹ(j)ɪn/, following /ˈfɒlwɪŋ/, /ˈfɒlwɪn/, but analogy has usually now resulted in restoration of the full form (e.g. /ˈkæɹi.ɪŋ/, /ˈfɒloʊ.ɪn/). [3]The same kind of analogy has resulted in pronunciations of bottling such as /ˈbɒtəlɪŋ/, /ˈbɒtəlɪn/ (for earlier /ˈbɒtlɪŋ/, /ˈbɒtlɪn/).

Synonyms

• (act of doing something, action): -tion, -ment
• (activity): -ery, -ment
• (collection): -age, -ery

Derived terms

collection

• batting
• bunting
• carpeting
• lining
• packing
• piping
• roofing
• siding
• ticking
• tubing
• wadding
• wiring

Translations

The translations below are a guide only. See individual words for precise translations.

to form gerunds

Dutch: -ing (nl) Esperanto: -ado (eo) Faroese: -ing Finnish: -minen (fi), -nti (fi) French: -age (fr) Galician: -ando, -endo, -indo German: Use zu (de) + infinitive Greek: Use το (el) (to) να (el) (na) + second person singular present verb form Icelandic: -ing Interlingua: -ion, -mento, -ar, -er, -ir Italian: (first-conjugation gerund) -ando, (second- and third-conjugation gerund) -endo Japanese: (use a verb in continuative form) (i.e. 泳ぎ (oyogi, “swimming”) from 泳ぐ (oyogu, “to swim”)), -の (ja) (-no), -こと (ja) (-koto) Khmer: ការ (km) (kaa) (prefix) Lao: please add this translation if you can Malay: peng--an Norwegian: -ing (no) Old Norse: -ing Polish: -nie n, -cie n Portuguese: use the infinitive Romanian: -ând, -ind Spanish: -ando, -endo Thai: การ- (th) (gaan-), ความ- (th) (kwaam-) Turkish: -yor, -mekte, -makta

act of doing something

Chinese: Mandarin: (with no suffix, verbs can be used as nouns) Danish: -ing (da) c Dutch: -ing (nl) f, nominalization of the infinitive Faroese: -ing f French: -age (fr) m, -tion (fr) f, -ment (fr) m German: -ung (de) f Italian: -zione f (-azione f, -uzione f), -mento m, (informal) -aggio f Low German: -d n German Low German: -en f; -inge, -ing f, -unge, -ung Middle Low German: -t n; -inge f Norwegian: Bokmål: -ing (no) m or f Nynorsk: -ing f Old Norse: -ing f Polish: -nie n, -cie n Romanian: -re f Russian: -а́ние n (-ánije), -е́ние n (-énije), -о́вка f (-óvka), -ля (ru) f (-lja) Swedish: -ing (sv) c

materials, systems of objects

Dutch: -werk n, -systeem (nl) n Faroese: -ing f Italian: -tura f Malay: -an (ms) Old Norse: -ing f

See also

• (collection): work

Etymology 2

From Middle English -inge, -ynge, alteration of earlier -inde, -ende, -and (see -and), from Old English -ende (present participle ending), from Proto-West Germanic *-andī, from Proto-Germanic *-andz (present participle ending), from Proto-Indo-European *-onts.

Cognate with West Frisian -end, Dutch -end, German -end, Swedish -and, Icelandic -andi, Gothic -𐌰𐌽𐌳𐍃 (-ands), -𐍉𐌽𐌳𐍃 (-ōnds), Latin -ans, -ant-, Ancient Greek -ων (-ōn), Sanskrit -अन्त् (-ant). More at -and.

Suffix

-ing

1. Used to form present participles of verbs.

   Rolling stones gather no moss.

   You are making a mess.

   • a. 2001, Brian Hall, “Beej's Guide to Network Programming”, “Using Internet Sockets”

     If you are connect()ing to a remote machine […] you can simply call connect(), it'll check to see if the socket is unworthy, and will bind() it to an unused local port if necessary.

Translations

to form present participles

Belizean Creole: di Chinese: Cantonese: 緊 (yue) (gan2), 住 (zyu6) Mandarin: 著 (zh), 着 (zh) (zhe), 正在 (zh) (zhèngzài) Danish: -ende (da) Dutch: -end Esperanto: -anta (eo) Faroese: -andi French: -ant (fr) German: -end (de) Hungarian: -ó (hu)/-ő Icelandic: -andi Interlingua: -ante, -ente, -iente Italian: (first-conjugation persent participle) -ante, (second- and third-conjugation present participle) -ente (it) Khmer: កំពុង (km) (kɑmpuŋ) (prefix) Lao: please add this translation if you can Latin: -ens Neapolitan: -anno, -enno Norwegian: -ende (no) Polish: -ący (pl) Portuguese: -ando (pt), -endo, -indo Russian: -ающий (-ajuščij), -ящий (-jaščij), -ущий (-uščij), -ющий (-juščij), -ащий (-aščij), -еющий (-ejuščij), -ующий (-ujuščij), -я́ющий (-jájuščij), -щий (-ščij) Spanish: -ando (verbs ending in -ar), -iendo, -yendo (verbs ending in -er and -ir) Swedish: -ande (sv) (verbs ending in -a), -ende (sv) (verbs ending in other letter than -a) Thai: กำลัง- (gamlang-) Turkish: -iyor

Etymology 3

From Middle English -ing, from Old English -ing, from Proto-West Germanic *-ing, from Proto-Germanic *-ingaz. Akin to Old Norse -ingr.

Suffix

-ing

1. (no longer productive) Forming derivative nouns (originally masculine), with the sense ‘son of, belonging to’, as in placenames, patronymics or diminutives; -ite.

   Ealing, Dorking, Reading, Worthing

   Browning, Channing, Ewing

   ‎Middle English *bunt + ‎-ing → ‎bunting

   ‎skill + ‎-ing → ‎shilling

   ‎fourth + ‎-ing → ‎farthing

2. Forming nouns having a specified quality, characteristic, or nature; of the kind of

   ‎sweet + ‎-ing → ‎sweeting

   ‎white + ‎-ing → ‎whiting

   ‎geld + ‎-ing → ‎gelding

Derived terms

terms derived using -ing (etymology 3)

• atheling
• gelding

See also

• -ed

References

1. Orton, H. et al., The Linguistic Atlas of England, Croom Helm, London: 1978.
2. Allan Metcalf, How We Talk: American Regional English, Houghton Mifflin, Boston: 2000, p 143
3. Jespersen, Otto (1909) A Modern English Grammar on Historical Principles (Sammlung germanischer Elementar- und Handbücher; 9)‎, volume I: Sounds and Spellings, London: George Allen & Unwin, published 1961, § 9.812, page 275.

Anagrams

• GNI, IGN, NGI, gin, nig

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Danish

Alternative forms

• -ning

Etymology

From Old Norse -ing, -ung, from Proto-Germanic *-ingō, *-ungō.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [eŋ]

Suffix

-ing c (singular definite -ingen, plural indefinite -inger)

1. added to a verb to form a noun for an action or process, the result of or the subject performing such action
2. designate a person of a certain origin or with certain qualities

Inflection

Declension of -ing

common gender	Singular		Plural
	indefinite	definite	indefinite	definite
nominative	-ing	-ingen	-inger	-ingerne
genitive	-ings	-ingens	-ingers	-ingernes

Synonyms

• (added to a verb to form a noun for an action or process): -else, -tion

Derived terms

Danish terms suffixed with -ing

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Dutch

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɪŋ/

Etymology 1

From Middle Dutch -inge, from Old Dutch -inga, -unga, -onga, from Proto-West Germanic *-ingu, *-ungu, from Proto-Germanic *-ungō.

Suffix

-ing f (plural -ingen, diminutive -inkje or -ingetje)

1. Creates action nouns referring to the performance of a verb, or the result thereof.

Derived terms

Dutch terms suffixed with -ing

Etymology 2

From Middle Dutch -inc, from Old Dutch -ing, from Proto-West Germanic *-ing, from Proto-Germanic *-ingaz.

Alternative forms

• -inck, -ink

Suffix

-ing m

1. (no longer productive) Forms nouns for a person originating from a place or family.

Usage notes

The suffix is no longer productive and is not generally recognised in this meaning. It is found in many place names and surnames, however.

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French

Etymology

From English -ing.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /iŋ(ɡ)/
• (Canada) IPA^(key): /ɪŋ/

Suffix

-ing m (plural -ings)

1. Used to form verbal nouns from verbs

Usage notes

• Most terms suffixed with -ing are borrowed directly from English, but some are not (e.g., surbooking, relooking).

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Fuyug

Noun

-ing

1. plural marker

   amul (“woman”) : amuling (“women”)

References

• Robert L. Bradshaw, Fuyug grammar sketch (2007)

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German

Etymology

Borrowed from English -ing. Doublet of native -ung.

Suffix

-ing n (genitive -ings, plural -ings)

1. (in English borrowings) -ing
2. (productive, colloquial, humorous) Used to form verbal nouns which jocularly imply that something is a sport, trend, or fashionable concept.

   Extremsparing ― extreme saving: saving money as a sport

   Cloud-Abwasching ― cloud dish washing: dish washing following the cloud principle

   • 2001, Ulrich Busse, Typen von Anglizismen, in: Gerhard von Stickel (ed.), Neues und Fremdes im deutschen Wortschatz, De Gruyter, Berlin/Boston, p. 131-155 [only a mentioning]

     Typen von Anglizismen: von der heilago geist bis Extremsparing – aufgezeigt anhand ausgewählter lexikographischer Kategorisierungen.

     Types of anglicisms: from der heilago geist [Old High German for “the Holy Spirit”] to extreme saving – illustrated by means of selected lexicographic categorisations.

   • 2012, Hans Zippert, Wir verlagern das ganze Leben in die Internetwolke, in: Website of Die Welt

     Beim Cloud-Abwasching wird das schmutzige Geschirr einfach ausgelagert, damit es keinen Speicherplatz in der Spüle wegnimmt und jeder darauf zugreifen kann, der die Lizenz zum Abwasch hat.

     In cloud dish washing, the dirty crockery is simply swapped out, so it doesn’t take up any memory in the kitchen sink and everybody who has a wash-up licence can access it.

Usage notes

• Productive use is chiefly restricted to ad-hoc formations (such as the two examples above).

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Hungarian

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [iŋɡ]

Suffix

-ing

1. (frequentative suffix) Added to a verb to form a verb denoting repetitive action.

   kering (“to circulate, orbit”)

Usage notes

• (frequentative suffix) Harmonic variants:

  -ong is added to back-vowel words

  hajol (“to bend”) → hajlong (“to bow repetitively”)

  -eng is added to unrounded front-vowel words

  derül (“to clear up”) → dereng (“to dawn; to appear vaguely”)

  -öng is added to rounded front-vowel words

  őrül (“to go insane”) → őrjöng (“to be wild, furious, raging”)

  düh (“fury, rage”) → dühöng (“to be in a raging temper”)

  -ang is added to back-vowel words (rare)

  lappang (“to lurk”)

  -ing is added to front-vowel words (rare)

  kering (“to circulate, orbit”)

Derived terms

Hungarian verbs suffixed with -ing

See also

• Appendix:Hungarian suffixes

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Icelandic

Etymology

From Old Norse -ing, similar to -ingur.

Suffix

-ing f

1. -ing; Indicates an action performed by a verb.

Derived terms

Icelandic terms suffixed with -ing

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Low German

Etymology

From Middle Low German -inc, from Old Saxon -ing, from Proto-West Germanic *-ing, from Proto-Germanic *-ingaz.

Suffix

-ing

1. (Mecklenburg-Vorpommern) Used to form diminutives.

Usage notes

• Nouns derived with this suffix are neuters and their plural end in -ings.
• The suffix can not only be added to nouns, but also to other parts of speech like adverbs.

Derived terms

• Bläuming
• Bräuding = Brüderchen (little brother)
• Dirning = Dirnken < Dirn (young girl)
• Döchting = Töchterchen (little daughter)
• fixing
• Körling
• Nahwersching
• nipping

See also

• -ken
• (East Frisian) -je, -tje, -ke

References

• Carl Friedrich Müller, Zur Sprache Fritz Reuters: ein Beitrag zur Kenntnis der mecklenburgischen Mundart, Leipzig: Max Hesse Verlag, 1902, pp. 41-2, 47.

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Middle English

Etymology 1

From Old English -ing, -ung, from Proto-West Germanic *-ungu, from Proto-Germanic *-ingō, *-ungō.

Alternative forms

• -inge, -yng, -ynge, -ingue, -inng, -ung, -unge, -eng, -enge

Pronunciation

• (mainly Early ME) IPA^(key): /unɡ/, [uŋɡ]
• IPA^(key): /inɡ/, [iŋɡ]

Suffix

-ing

1. Forms gerunds from verbs, typically referring to the process of performing the verb, but also referring to the effect of the verb, what the verb affects, the capability or permission of performing the verb, or that which performs the verb.
2. Forms collective nouns from verbs meaning "to utilise (a given thing)".

Derived terms

Middle English terms suffixed with -ing

Descendants

• English: -ing, -in', -in
• Scots: -in, -in', -ing

References

• “-ing(e, suf.(1).”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007, retrieved 2018-06-27.

Etymology 2

From Old English -ing, from Proto-West Germanic *-ing, from Proto-Germanic *-ingaz.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /inɡ/, [iŋɡ]

Suffix

-ing

1. Forms diminutives; these can be either affective or insulting.
2. (marginally productive) Forms nouns meaning "son of".

Descendants

• English: -ing, -in'
• Scots: -in, -in', -ing

References

• “-ing, suf.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007, retrieved 2018-06-27.

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Norwegian Bokmål

Etymology

From Old Norse -ingr m, -ingi m, -ing f, from Proto-Germanic *-ingō, *-ungō.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɪŋ/
• Rhymes: -ɪŋ

Suffix

-ing m or f or m (see below)

1. Used to form verbal nouns from verbs; -ing.

   Han var lei av masing. ― He was tired of nagging

2. Used to form demonyms.

   ‎Færøyene + ‎-ing → ‎færøying

Usage notes

The gender is usually m or f (in Bokmål) if the word ended in -ing in Old Norse and m if it ended in -ingr or -ingi. Living things like islending (“Icelander”) and dumming (“idiot”) are usually m whilst inanimate things like stråling (“radiation”) and eting (“the act of eating”) usually are m or f.

Derived terms

Norwegian Bokmål terms suffixed with -ing

• austlending
• estlending
• finlending
• flamlending
• færøying
• grønlending
• helgelending
• hjaltlending (Nynorsk)
• hollending
• hordalending
• innlending
• irlending
• islending
• leilending (Bokmål), leiglending (Nynorsk)
• lettlending
• nederlending
• newzealending
• nordlending
• nyzealending
• shetlending
• swazilending
• sørlending
• thailending
• utlending
• vestlending
• viking
• østlending

 

See also

• -ning

References

• “-ing” in The Bokmål Dictionary.

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Norwegian Nynorsk

Etymology 1

From Old Norse -ing f.

Suffix

-ing f

1. Used to form verbal nouns from verbs; -ing.

Derived terms

Norwegian Nynorsk terms suffixed with -ing

Etymology 2

From Old Norse -ingr m, -ingi m.

Suffix

-ing m

1. Used to form demonyms.

   ‎Færøyane + ‎-ing → ‎færøying

See also

• -ning

References

• “-ing” in The Nynorsk Dictionary.

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Ojibwe

Final

-ing

1. used in certain adverbs

Derived terms

• ingoding
• ningoding

References

• The Ojibwe People's Dictionary https://ojibwe.lib.umn.edu/word-part/ing-final

Suffix

-ing

1. A suffix denoting the locative form of a noun

See also

• -ang
• -aang
• -iing
• -ng
• -ong

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Old English

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /inɡ/, [iŋɡ]

Etymology 1

Variant of -ung.

Alternative forms

• -ung

Suffix

-ing

1. Forming nouns from verbs, indicating action, process or material.

Declension

Declension of -ing (strong ō-stem)

Case	Singular	Plural
nominative	-ing	-inga, -inge
accusative	-inge	-inga, -inge
genitive	-inge	-inga
dative	-inge	-ingum

Derived terms

Old English terms suffixed with -ing

Etymology 2

From Proto-West Germanic *-ing, from Proto-Germanic *-ingaz.

Suffix

-ing

1. Forming derivatives of masculine nouns with sense of ‘belonging to, son of’.

Derived terms

Old English terms suffixed with -ing

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Old Norse

Alternative forms

• -ung

Etymology

From Proto-Germanic *-ingō, *-ungō.

Suffix

-ing f

1. Forms gerund nouns from verbs

Declension

  Declension of -ing (strong ō-stem)

feminine	singular		plural
	indefinite	definite	indefinite	definite
nominative	-ing	-ingin	-ingar	-ingarnar
accusative	-ing	-ingina	-ingar	-ingarnar
dative	-ingu	-ingunni	-ingum	-ingunum
genitive	-ingar	-ingarinnar	-inga	-inganna

Note the dative -u that is a staple of the declension of these words

Derived terms

Old Norse terms suffixed with -ing

Descendants

• Icelandic: -ing, -ung
• Norwegian Nynorsk: -ing
• Norwegian Bokmål: -ing
• Old Swedish: -ing, -ung
  • Swedish: -ing, -ung (fossilized)
• Danish: -ing

See also

• -an f
• -ingi m, -ingr m

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Ottawa

Suffix

-ing

1. locative

References

Jerry Randolph Valentine (2001) Nishnaabemwin Reference Grammar, University of Toronto, page 194

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Scots

Suffix

-ing

1. Alternative form of -in (“ing”)

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Spanish

Alternative forms

• -in

Etymology

Unadapted borrowing from English -ing.

Suffix

-ing m (plural -ings)

1. Used to form verbal nouns from verbs

Usage notes

• Most terms suffixed with -ing are borrowed directly from English, but some are not (e.g., footing (pseudo-anglicism), puenting, edredoning).

Usage notes

According to Royal Spanish Academy (RAE) prescriptions, unadapted foreign words should be written in italics in a text printed in roman type, and vice versa, and in quotation marks in a manuscript text or when italics are not available. In practice, this RAE prescription is not always followed.

Derived terms

Spanish terms suffixed with -ing

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Swedish

Etymology 1

From Old Swedish -ing, -ung, from Old Norse -ing, -ung, from Proto-Germanic *-ingō, *-ungō.

Suffix

-ing c or f

1. Used to form verbal nouns from verbs; -ation. See also -ning, -ung.

Derived terms

Swedish terms suffixed with -ing (verbal noun)

Etymology 2

From Old Swedish -inger, from Old Norse -ingr, from Proto-Germanic *-ingaz. Cognate with Icelandic -ingur, English -ing (derivative suffix).

Suffix

-ing c or m

1. (rarely productive) added to a noun stem, causing i-mutation (if applicable), forming a noun denoting an inhabitant or original of a particular place, a descendant of a person, etc.; -er, -ite. See also -ling.

   ‎Skåne (“Scania”) + ‎-ing → ‎skåning (“a Scanian”)

   ‎Island (“Iceland”) + ‎-ing → ‎islänning (“an Icelander”)

2. (rarely productive) diminutive suffix

   ‎get (“goat”) + ‎-ing → ‎geting (“a wasp”)

   ‎släkt (“(extended) family”) + ‎-ing → ‎släkting (“a relative”)

   ‎galen (“crazy”) + ‎-ing → ‎galning (“a crazy person, lunatic, madman”)

Derived terms

Swedish terms suffixed with -ing (demonym)

Swedish terms suffixed with -ing (diminutive)

Anagrams

• gin, nig

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Tagalog

Alternative forms

• -ng – for roots ending in vowels

Etymology

Possibly from Spanish -ín. Compare tsikiting with Spanish chiquitín and list of Derived terms.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈʔiŋ/, [ˈʔiŋ]

Suffix

-ing

1. Diminutive suffix, used to form diminutives ending in consonants, especially given names, often one already shortened or with a diminutive suffix.

Derived terms

• Tagalog terms suffixed with -ing

See also

• -ng
• -ito
• -ita
• -oy
• -ay

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Uzbek

Etymology

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

Suffix

postconsonantal	-ing
postvocalic	-ning

-ing (-инг)

1. second-person singular possessive suffix. Used after a noun ending in a consonant. It has the same meaning as sening (“your”) placed before a noun.

   Bu kitobing. ― This is your book.

Usage notes

When directly addressing another person, it is polite to use the plural -ingiz or -ngiz forms.