STINGING

cutting, edged, stinging

(adjective) (of speech) harsh or hurtful in tone or character; “cutting remarks”; “edged satire”; “a stinging comment”

sting, stinging

(noun) a kind of pain; something as sudden and painful as being stung; “the sting of death”; “he felt the stinging of nettles”

Source: WordNet® 3.1


Etymology

Adjective

stinging (comparative more stinging, superlative most stinging)

Having the capacity to sting.

(figurative) Precise and hurtful

Verb

stinging

present participle of sting

Noun

stinging (plural stingings)

The act by which someone receives a sting.

stingings of remorse

Source: Wiktionary


Sting"ing, a.

Definition: Piercing, or capable of piercing, with a sting; inflicting acute pain as if with a sting, goad, or pointed weapon; pungent; biting; as, stinging cold; a stinging rebuke.

– Sting"ing*ly, adv. Stinging cell. (Zoöl.) Same as Lasso cell, under Lasso.

STING

Sting, n. Etym: [AS. sting a sting. See Sting, v. t.]

1. (Zoöl.)

Definition: Any sharp organ of offense and defense, especially when connected with a poison gland, and adapted to inflict a wound by piercing; as the caudal sting of a scorpion. The sting of a bee or wasp is a modified ovipositor. The caudal sting, or spine, of a sting ray is a modified dorsal fin ray. The term is sometimes applied to the fang of a serpent. See Illust. of Scorpion.

2. (Bot.)

Definition: A sharp-pointed hollow hair seated on a gland which secrets an acrid fluid, as in nettles. The points of these hairs usually break off in the wound, and the acrid fluid is pressed into it.

3. Anything that gives acute pain, bodily or mental; as, the stings of remorse; the stings of reproach. The sting of death is sin. 1 Cor. xv. 56.

4. The thrust of a sting into the flesh; the act of stinging; a wound inflicted by stinging. "The lurking serpent's mortal sting." Shak.

5. A goad; incitement. Shak.

6. The point of an epigram or other sarcastic saying. Sting moth (Zoöl.), an Australian moth (Doratifera vulnerans) whose larva is armed, at each end of the body, with four tubercles bearing powerful stinging organs.

– Sting ray. (Zoöl.) See under 6th Ray.

– Sting winkle (Zoöl.), a spinose marine univalve shell of the genus Murex, as the European species (Murex erinaceus). See Illust. of Murex.

Sting, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Stung (Archaic Stang (); p. pr. & vb. n. Stinging.] Etym: [AS. stingan; akin to Icel. & Sw. stinga, Dan. stinge, and probably to E. stick, v.t.; cf. Goth. usstiggan to put out, pluck out. Cf. Stick, v. t.]

1. To pierce or wound with a sting; as, bees will sting an animal that irritates them; the nettles stung his hands.

2. To pain acutely; as, the conscience is stung with remorse; to bite. "Slander stings the brave." Pope.

3. To goad; to incite, as by taunts or reproaches.

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition



RESET




Word of the Day

30 June 2024

CONCERN

(noun) a feeling of sympathy for someone or something; “She felt strong concern for those less fortunate”


coffee icon

Coffee Trivia

The average annual yield from one coffee tree is the equivalent of 1 to 1 1/2 pounds of roasted coffee. It takes about 4,000 hand-picked green coffee beans to make a pound of coffee.

coffee icon