Etymology From Middle English sweting, swetynge, equivalent to sweat + -ing (gerund ending).
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The production and evaporation of a watery fluid called sweat that is excreted by the sweat glands in the skin of mammals.
In its favour may be urged, I. That in healthy persons, in every case of increased action of the heart and arteries, a sweating takes place, and is, seemingly, the means of preventing the bad effects of such increased action.1797, Colin Macfarquhar, George Gleig, Encyclopædia Britannica:
In this early stage there is generally a tendency to constipation of the bowels, and in the intervals between the sweatings the urine remains clear, though not abundant. In the second degree, the emaciation is more noticeable.1870, Timothy Holmes, A System of Surgery: Theoretical and Practical, volume 1, page 288:
1 more example
Her jet-black hair would be heavily braided, and her face chalky-white from its coating of powder (she suffered from constant sweatings and seborrhoea).1973, Oliver Sacks, Awakenings:
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Biology, Botany, Natural sciences Mucilage, especially of cocoa.