Inherited from Middle English -ing, -yng, -ynge, from Old English -ing, -ung (“-ing”, suffix forming nouns from verbs), from Proto-West Germanic *-ingu, *-ungu, from Proto-Germanic *-ingō, *-ungō (“-ing”). Cognates Cognate with Scots -in, -in', -ing (“-ing”), Yola -een (“-ing”), Saterland Frisian -enge (“-ing”), Dutch -ing (“-ing”), German and Luxembourgish -ung (“-ing”), Danish -ing, -ning (“-ing”), Icelandic, Norwegian Bokmål, Norwegian Nynorsk, and Swedish -ing (“-ing”), French -ange (“-ing”). Unrelated to Brahui -اِنْگ (-iṅg, “a suffix used to form infinitive or verbal noun from the base verb; -ing”).
› Used to form nouns or noun-like words (or…
1
Morpheme As true nouns.
My hearing is not good.
I have had several meetings with him.
2
Morpheme As gerunds.
Smoking marijuana cigarettes daily is bad for your health.
She has a habit of sleeping late.
1 more example
I like meeting people.
3
Morpheme 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.
1 more example
The piping is a system of pipes considered collectively.
Etymology 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, Afrikaans -ende, German -end, Low German -end, Danish -ende, Swedish -ande, Icelandic -andi, Gothic -𐌰𐌽𐌳𐍃 (-ands), -𐍉𐌽𐌳𐍃 (-ōnds), Latin -ans, -ant-, Ancient Greek -ων (-ōn), Sanskrit -अन्त् (-ant), Polish -ący, -ąc, Czech -oucí, Ukrainian -учий (-učyj), Serbo-Croatian -ući/-ући. More at -and.
1
Morpheme Used to form present participles of verbs.
Rolling stones gather no moss.
My new cabin, which is going to look over the lake, is getting a brand new roof this winter.
4 more examples
I wondered what time the play was starting.
Anybody touching this wire will get a deadly shock.
When it occurred, I was flying to New York a great deal.
We were boogieing from midnight until three o’clock in the morning.
-ing
suffix
Etymology From Middle English -ynge, from Old English -ing, from Proto-West Germanic *-ing, from Proto-Germanic *-ingaz. Akin to Old Norse -ingr.
1
Idiomatic, Morpheme 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
3 more examples
Middle English *bunt + -ing → bunting
skill + -ing → shilling
fourth + -ing → farthing
2
Morpheme Forming nouns having a specified quality, characteristic, or nature; of the kind of