Ing By Etymonline - Meaning Of Suffix

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Origin and history of -ing

-ing(1)

suffix attached to verbs to mean their action, result, product, material, etc., from Old English -ing, also -ung, from Proto-Germanic *-unga-, *-inga- (cognates: Old Norse -ing, Dutch -ing, German -ung). In early use often denoting completed or habitual action; its use has been greatly expanded in Middle and Modern English.

-ing(2)

suffix used to form the present participles of verbs and the adjectives derived from them, from Old English present-participle suffix -ende, from PIE *-nt- (cognates: German -end, Gothic -and, Sanskrit -ant, Greek -on, Latin -ans, -ens). The vowel weakened in late Old English and the spelling with -g began 13c.-14c. among Anglo-Norman scribes who naturally confused it with -ing (1).

-ing(3)

Old English -ing, patronymic suffix (denoting common origin); surviving in place names (Birmingham, Nottingham) where it denotes "tribe, community."

Entries linking to -ing

aborning(adv.)

"while being born," 1893, American English; see a- (1) + born + -ing (2).

appetizing(adj.)

"exciting desire or hunger," 1650s, from appetite on model of present-participle adjective forms in -ing.

• being
• ceiling
• middling
• offing
• unwilling
• unwitting
• upstanding
• -s
• -sis
• See All Related Words (11)

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ceilingmid-14c., celynge, "act of paneling a room," noun formed (with -ing) from Middle English verb ceil "put a cover or ceiling over," later "cover (walls) with wainscoting, panels, etc." (early 15c.); from Old French celer "conceal," also "cover with paneling" (12c.), from Latin celamiddling"medium in rank, condition, or degree; intermediate," 1540s, from Middle English medlinge "intermediate between two things" (late 14c.), from middle (adj.) + present-participle suffix -ing (2). Used in trade to designate the second of three grades of goods. Hence "only medium, nedarklingThe verb darkle is a back-formation from 1810 (Moore, who rhymed it with sparkle), assuming the -ing as a present-participle...But having nothing to do with the participial -ing it does not mean growing dark &c.; from the mistaken notion that it...bantingAlthough the word is a surname, it was treated as a verbal noun in -ing. ("She is banting")....Ingridfem. proper name, Scandinavian or German, from Ing, Germanic god-name (Old Norse Yngvi, Old English Ingwine), apparently...athelingWith suffix -ing "belonging to."...gerundIn Latin, a verbal noun used for all cases of the infinitive but the nominative; applied in English to verbal nouns in -ing...ivory towersymbol of artistic or intellectual aloofness, by 1889, from French tour d'ivoire, used in 1837 by critic Charles-Augustin Sainte-Beuve (1804-1869) with reference to the poet Alfred de Vigny (1797-1863), whom he accused of excessive aloofness. Et Vigny, plus secret, comme en sa tPlutoRoman god of the underworld, early 14c., from Latin Pluto, Pluton, from Greek Ploutōn "god of wealth," from ploutos "wealth, riches," probably originally "overflowing," from PIE root *pleu- "to flow." The alternative Greek name or epithet of Hades in his function as the god of webat"a stick or staff used in beating, a war-club, staff used to strike the ball in certain games," c. 1200, from rare Old English batt "cudgel," a western England word at first, probably from Welsh or another Celtic source (compare Irish and Gaelic bat, bata "staff, cudgel"), later

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‘cite’Page URL:https://www.etymonline.com/word/-ingCopyHTML Link:<a href="https://www.etymonline.com/word/-ing">Etymology of -ing by etymonline</a>CopyAPA Style:Harper, D. (n.d.). Etymology of -ing. Online Etymology Dictionary. Retrieved January 5, 2026, from https://www.etymonline.com/word/-ingCopyChicago Style:Harper Douglas, "Etymology of -ing," Online Etymology Dictionary, accessed January 5, 2026, https://www.etymonline.com/word/-ing.CopyMLA Style:Harper, Douglas. "Etymology of -ing." Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com/word/-ing. Accessed 5 January, 2026.CopyIEEE Style:D. Harper. "Etymology of -ing." Online Etymology Dictionary. https://www.etymonline.com/word/-ing (accessed January 5, 2026).CopyRemove AdsAdvertisement

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TrendingDictionary entries near -ing

• infuriate
• infuriating
• infuriation
• infuse
• infusion
• -ing
• Inga
• in-gather
• ingenious
• ingenue
• ingenuity

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