croakingn.
/ˈkrəʊkɪŋ/ 1. The action of making a deep hoarse sound.
ΚΠ
1547 A. Borde Breuiary of Helthe i. f. Cxvii In englysh it is named crokynge or clockyng in ones bely.
a1610 J. Healey tr. Epictetus Manuall (1636) xxiv. 29 The croaking of the Raven.
1840 R. H. Dana Two Years before Mast ix. 22 The frogs set up their croaking in the marshes.
2. figurative. Talking dismally or foreboding evil.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > expectation > despair, hopelessness > pessimism > [noun] > talking dismally
croaking1787
1787 J. Wedgwood Let. 16 June in Sel. Lett. (1965) 305 I rejoice to find that all croaking against the treaty is at an end everywhere.
1810 Duke of Wellington Dispatches (1838) VI. 417 The croaking which already prevails in the army.
1836 F. Marryat Mr. Midshipman Easy III. i. 3 All this comes from your croaking—you're a Mother Cary's chicken.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1893; most recently modified version published online March 2019).
croakingadj.
That croaks. (literal and figurative.)
ΘΚΠ
the world > physical sensation > hearing and noise > voice or vocal sound > quality of voice > [adjective] > hoarse or husky
hoarsec1000
stoppedc1485
hoarsy1570
croaking1608
throaty1647
furred1666
rouped1677
gruffa1712
cracked1739
roupy1756
hoarsened1798
gruffish1812
gin and fog1842
grasshoppery1849
croaky1851
feathery1881
tonsilly1894
wine-tasting1936
gravelly1944
gravelled1958
1608 E. Topsell Hist. Serpents 177 The croaking frogs made such a noyse, as he could take no rest.
1662 E. Stillingfleet Origines Sacræ ii. i. §2 An innumerable company of croaking Enthusiasts.
1780 F. Burney Lett. 24 Aug. A croaking prophet, foretells nothing but utter destruction.
1885 Manch. Examiner 27 Feb. 5/4 [His] voice itself was pitched in a low and croaking key.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1893; most recently modified version published online June 2019).
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n.1547
adj.1608