flinging
present participle of fling
flinging (plural flingings)
The act by which something is flung.
Source: Wiktionary
Fling, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Flung; p. pr. & vb. n. Flinging.] Etym: [OE. flingen, flengen, to rush, hurl; cf. Icel. flengia to whip, ride furiously, OSw. flenga to strike, Sw. flänga to romp, Dan. flenge to slash.]
1. To cast, send, to throw from the hand; to hurl; to dart; to emit with violence as if thrown from the hand; as, to fing a stone into the pond. 'T is Fate that flings the dice: and, as she flings, Of kings makes peasants, and of peasants kings. Dryden. He . . . like Jove, his lighting flung. Dryden. I know thy generous temper well. Fling but the appearance of dishonor on it, It straight takes fire. Addison.
2. To shed forth; to emit; to scatter. The sun begins to fling His flaring beams. Milton. Every beam new transient colors flings. Pope.
3. To throw; to hurl; to throw off or down; to prostrate; hence, to baffle; to defeat; as, to fling a party in litigation. His horse started, flung him, and fell upon him. Walpole.
To fling about, to throw on all sides; to scatter.
– To fling away, to reject; to discard. Cromwell, I charge thee, fling away ambition. Shak. --To fling down. (a) To throw to the ground; esp., to throw in defiance, as formerly knights cast a glove into the arena as a challenge. This question so flung down before the guests, . . . Was handed over by consent of all To me who had not spoken. Tennyson. (b) To overturn; to demolish; to ruin.
– To fling in, to throw in; not to charge in an account; as, in settling accounts, one party flings in a small sum, or a few days' work.
– To fling off, to baffle in the chase; to defeat of prey; also, to get rid of. Addison.
– To fling open, to throw open; to open suddenly or with violence; as, to fling open a door.
– To fling out, to utter; to speak in an abrupt or harsh manner; as, to fling out hard words against another.
– To fling up, to relinquish; to abandon; as, to fling up a design.
Fling, v. i.
1. To throw; to wince; to flounce; as, the horse began to kick and fling.
2. To cast in the teeth; to utter abusive language; to sneer; as, the scold began to flout and fling.
3. To throw one's self in a violent or hasty manner; to rush or spring with violence or haste. And crop-full, out of doors he flings. Milton. I flung closer to his breast, As sword that, after battle, flings to sheath. Mrs. Browning. To fling out, to become ugly and intractable; to utter sneers and insinuations.
Fling, n.
1. A cast from the hand; a throw; also, a flounce; a kick; as, the fling of a horse.
2. A severe or contemptuous remark; an expression of sarcastic scorn; a gibe; a sarcasm. I, who love to have a fling, Both at senate house and king. Swift.
3. A kind of dance; as, the Highland fling.
4. A trifing matter; an object of contempt. [Obs.] England were but a fling Save for the crooked stick and the gray goose wing. Old Proverb. To have one's fling, to enjoy one's self to the full; to have a season of dissipation. J. H. Newman. "When I was as young as you, I had my fling. I led a life of pleasure." D. Jerrold.
Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition
23 February 2025
(noun) an advantageous purchase; “she got a bargain at the auction”; “the stock was a real buy at that price”
The word “coffee” entered the English language in 1582 via the Dutch “koffie,” borrowed from the Ottoman Turkish “kahve,” borrowed in turn from the Arabic “qahwah.” The Arabic word qahwah was traditionally held to refer to a type of wine.
