asking
English
Etymology
From Middle English asking, askyng, askynge, from Old English āscung (“asking; question; inquiry”), equivalent to ask + -ing.
Pronunciation
- (General American) IPA(key): /ˈæskɪŋ/
- (Received Pronunciation) IPA(key): /ˈɑːskɪŋ/
- (Northern England, Scotland) IPA(key): /ˈaskɪŋ/
- (NYC, Philadelphia) IPA(key): /ˈeəskɪŋ/
- (AAVE) IPA(key): /ˈæksɪŋ/
Audio (US) (file) Audio (UK) (file)
Verb
asking
- present participle of ask
Noun
asking (plural askings)
- The act or process of posing a question or making a request.
- His asking was greeted with silence.
- 1837, L[etitia] E[lizabeth] L[andon], Ethel Churchill: Or, The Two Brides. […], volume I, London: Henry Colburn, […], OCLC 21345056, page 303:
- The large eyes sought his own, as if asking for help, and yet unable to do more than look their mute asking.
- (rare in the singular) A request, or petition.
- 2005, The Woman's Book of Resilience: 12 Qualities to Cultivate, by Beth Miller - Page 125
- After many askings, pleadings, and episodes, all leading to nothing, she finally slumped down at the side of a well in a village where she was unknown.
- 2005, The Woman's Book of Resilience: 12 Qualities to Cultivate, by Beth Miller - Page 125
- (in the plural) The marriage banns.
Usage notes
- Normally found in plural, or in set phrases such as for the asking or time of asking.
Adjective
asking (comparative more asking, superlative most asking)
- That asks; that expresses a question or request.
- 1924, Edna Ferber, So Big, New York: Grosset & Dunlap, Chapter , p. 109,
- It was as when some great gentle dog brings in a limp and bedraggled prize dug from the yard and, laying it at one’s feet, looks up at one with soft asking eyes.
- 1942, Zora Neale Hurston, Dust Tracks on a Road, New York: Arno Press and The New York Times, 1969, Chapter 12, p. 235,
- […] all of them looked at each other in an asking way.
- 1924, Edna Ferber, So Big, New York: Grosset & Dunlap, Chapter , p. 109,
Derived terms
- askingly
- asking price
Anagrams
- Gaskin, Sikang, aksing, gaskin, kiangs
Middle English
Noun
asking
- Alternative form of askynge