ticking
(noun) a strong fabric used for mattress and pillow covers
tick, ticking
(noun) a metallic tapping sound; “he counted the ticks of the clock”
Source: WordNet® 3.1
ticking (plural tickings)
A strong cotton or linen fabric used to cover pillows and mattresses.
ticking (plural tickings)
A sound of something ticking.
An illusional style of dance where one moves his or her body to the "tic" of the music creating a strobe or animated effect.
ticking
present participle of tick
ticking (plural tickings)
A marking that occurs on some horses. It involves white flecks of hair at the flank, and white hairs at the base of the tail, called a skunk tail or rabicano. Sometimes referred to as birdcatcher ticks.
Source: Wiktionary
Tick"ing, n. Etym: [From Tick a bed cover. Cf. Ticken.]
Definition: A strong, closely woven linen or cotton fabric, of which ticks for beds are made. It is usually twilled, and woven in stripes of different colors, as white and blue; -- called also ticken.
Tick, n. Etym: [Abbrev. from ticket.]
Definition: Credit; trust; as, to buy on, or upon, tick.
Tick, v. i.
1. To go on trust, or credit.
2. To give tick; to trust.
Tick, n. Etym: [OE. tike, teke; akin to D. teek, G. zecke. Cf. Tike a tick.] (Zoöl.) (a) Any one of numerous species of large parasitic mites which attach themselves to, and suck the blood of, cattle, dogs, and many other animals. When filled with blood they become ovate, much swollen, and usually livid red in color. Some of the species often attach themselves to the human body. The young are active and have at first but six legs. (b) Any one of several species of dipterous insects having a flattened and usually wingless body, as the bird ticks (see under Bird) and sheep tick (see under Sheep). Tick bean, a small bean used for feeding horses and other animals.
– Tick trefoil (Bot.), a name given to many plants of the leguminous genus Desmodium, which have trifoliate leaves, and joined pods roughened with minute hooked hairs by which the joints adhere to clothing and to the fleece of sheep.
Tick, n. Etym: [LL. techa, teca, L. theca case, Gr. Thesis.]
1. The cover, or case, of a bed, mattress, etc., which contains the straw, feathers, hair, or other filling.
2. Ticking. See Ticking, n.
Tick, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Ticked; p. pr. & vb. n. Ticking.] Etym: [Probably of imitative origin; cf. D. tikken, LG. ticken.]
1. To make a small or repeating noise by beating or otherwise, as a watch does; to beat.
2. To strike gently; to pat. Stand not ticking and toying at the branches. Latimer.
Tick, n.
1. A quick, audible beat, as of a clock.
2. Any small mark intended to direct attention to something, or to serve as a check. Dickens.
3. (Zoöl.)
Definition: The whinchat; -- so called from its note. [Prov. Eng.] Death tick. (Zoöl.) See Deathwatch.
Tick, v. t.
Definition: To check off by means of a tick or any small mark; to score. When I had got all my responsibilities down upon my list, I compared each with the bill and ticked it off. Dickens.
Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition
7 May 2025
(noun) a person who is employed to deliver messages or documents; “he sent a runner over with the contract”
The Boston Tea Party helped popularize coffee in America. The hefty tea tax imposed on the colonies in 1773 resulted in America switching from tea to coffee. In the lead up to the Revolutionary War, it became patriotic to sip java instead of tea. The Civil War made the drink more pervasive. Coffee helped energize tired troops, and drinking it became an expression of freedom.
