reading meaning: definition, etymology and quotations

reading

noun

/ˈɹiːdɪŋ/ · [ˈɹiːɾɪŋ]

Etymology From Middle English reding, redynge, redunge, from Old English rǣding (“reading”), equivalent to read + -ing.

13 senses

The process of interpreting written language.

The process of interpreting a symbol, a sign or a measuring device.

Broadly An interpretation.

A value indicated by a measuring device.

He glanced across and took note of the speedometer reading.
He noted that fine dust readings have been higher in Seoul than in Beijing recently.2019, VOA Learning English (public domain)

An event at which written material is read aloud.

Human sciences, Linguistics, Sciences, Textual criticism The wording of a version of a text in a particular place or context.

Human sciences, Linguistics, Sciences A pronunciation associated with a particular character or word; particularly in East Asian scripts.

Some Chinese characters have numerous readings.
Recent reports from Taiwan (Formosa), although fragmentary, begin to give a picture of economic conditions following the conclusion of the war. Now officially referred to as Taiwan Province, the island's former Japanese administration is being replaced by Chinese officials with little change, at least as yet, in the administrative pattern. Although there is no indication that ideographs will be changed, Chinese readings rather than Japanese will be followed for place names. Taihoku, for example, will be read in our alphabet as Taipei. This city presumably will continue to be the capital of Taiwan.1946 February 16, “China”, in Foreign Commerce Weekly, volume XXII, number 7, Bureau of Foreign and Domestic Commerce, United States Department of Commerce, →ISSN, →OCLC, page 26, column 2:

Something to read; reading material.

The second level of reading we will call Inspectional Reading. It is characterized by its special emphasis on time. When reading at this level, the student is allowed a set time to complete an assigned amount of reading.1972, Mortimer J. Adler, Charles Van Doren, How to Read a Book, Simon & Schuster, →ISBN, →LCCN, page 18:

The extent of what one has read.

Government, Law, Politics One of several stages a bill passes through before becoming law.

A piece of literature or passage of scripture read aloud to an audience.

Education The content of a reading list.

The act or process of imagining sequences of potential moves and responses without actually placing stones.

Derived terms: 55 terms
billet reading, bioreading, book reading, close reading, cold reading, cross-reading, e-reading, face reading, finger-reading, first reading, lip reading, lip-reading, mapreading, mind-reading, mind reading, muscle reading, newsreading, nonreading, open reading frame, palm reading, pendulum reading, playreading, poetry reading, popcorn reading, rauding, readin', reading age, reading book, reading break, reading comprehension, reading copy, reading frame, reading glasses, reading group, reading is tech, reading knowledge, reading lamp, reading-lamp, reading light, reading list, reading material, reading nook, reading notice, reading room, reading stone, reading week, reading wheel, screenreading, second reading, speechreading, speed reading, spreading, third reading, variant reading, various reading