a1398 J. Trevisa tr. Bartholomaeus Anglicus De Proprietatibus Rerum (BL Add. 27944) (1975) II. xvii. cxvii. 1015 Euerich ȝere þe spray nedeþ..parynge and dischargynge of superfluite to springe and to bere fruyte þe bettre.

c1440 (?c1380–1400) Of Shrifte & Penance (St. John's Cambr. G. 30) (1998) 117 Þe seconde gode, wyþowte doute, of confession is dischargynge, for, for evry synne þat a man schal do, he schal haue peyne þerfore. But at evry tyme þat ȝe schryueth ȝow, of þys peyne ȝe byth discharged.

c1475 in Coll. Ordinances Royal Househ. (Harl. 642) (1790) 29 Bycause of newe charging and discharging of servaunts, officers,..&c.

1538 in S. Tymms Wills & Inventories Bury St. Edmunds (1850) 135 In dyschargyng of my concyence.

1666 S. Pepys Diary 16 Oct. (1972) VII. 327 Orders..about discharging of ships.

a1679 J. Brown Expos. Epist. to Romans (1766) ix. 339/1 The frame of the Spirit which the man hath, while he is discharging the duty, and..the manner of his discharging of it.

1735 J. Oldmixon Hist. Eng.: George I 698/1 The discharging of such a Debt.

1832 H. Marshall (title) On the enlisting, the discharging, and the pensioning of soldiers.

1872 J. M. Wright Marion through Brush xi. 192 For fifteen minutes there was a dashing about, discharging of arms, and a general tumult.

1890 Pall Mall Gaz. 24 Nov. 6/3 The proposals..by the large shipowners to undertake their own discharging.

1911 L. B. Spinney Text-bk. Physics (1913) xxxiv. 415 This discharging of electrified bodies was due to the ionizing action of the radiation.

1965 New Scientist 17 June 768/2 The discharging of aggression.

1999 N.Y. Times (Nexis) 28 Nov. 4 The discharging of more than 120 million gallons of unchlorinated sewage into the Hudson River.

1688 Acct. in 14th Vol. Wren Soc. (1937) 50 Ffor working and setting 149 foot 10 inches of ffreestone discharging Arches in ye body of ye ffreeze.

?1785 Langley's Builder's Compl. Assist. (ed. 4) I. 152 If..there be discharging Struts framed into the Beams and Prick Posts..they will discharge the principal Rafters from the greatest Part of the whole Weight.

1859–60 Dict. Archit. (Archit. Publ. Soc.) Discharging piece, strut, etc., a piece of timber so placed as to discharge any weight, in framing or shoring, upon a better point of support.

1909 F. T. Hodgson Light & Heavy Timber Framing 283 The discharging posts between the bracket pieces and the stone corbels are of oak, 6 inches square.

2004 V. Levina & A. Kovalev tr. T. I. Zejmal' in B. A. Litvinskiĭ Buddhist Monastery Ajina Tepa i. 28/2 At some point the wall with the niches sagged under the vault load; a discharging wall was then added closing the niches.

1702 Philos. Trans. 23 1089 A violent concussion..as is made by a discharging Guns [sic].

1797 Monthly Mag. 3 301 The spirit becomes sooner condensed, before it reaches the discharging cock.

1812 J. Smyth Pract. of Customs Pref. p. x Copious instructions for the discharging Officers.

1815 J. Smith Panorama Sci. & Art II. 137 The condenser..and the discharging-pump..communicate by means of a horizontal pipe containing a valve..opening towards the pump.

1856 E. K. Kane Arctic Explor. I. xii. 135 An icy wall, which constantly threw off its discharging bergs.

1875 R. Hunt & F. W. Rudler Ure's Dict. Arts (ed. 7) I. 288 The bleaching or discharging liquor.

1957 Columbia Law Rev. 57 706 Where the discharging agreement has not been entered into by all the parties to the original agreement, the courts have taken a different approach.

1984 J. Frame Angel at my Table (1987) xiv. 99 I was thin, with sores, and a discharging ear.

2001 Sydney Morning Herald (Nexis) 13 Oct. 21 When her mother heard she had been discharged after one day in a general ward, she tracked down the discharging doctor to ask some questions.

1787 New Ann. Reg. 1786 Antiquities 157/1 A lintel at top, over which is a discharging arch.

1819 P. Nicholson Archit. Dict. Discharging Arches, rough brick or stone arches, built over the wooden lintels of apertures.

1983 W. G. Nash Brickwork 1 (ed. 3) ix. 97/1 They may gradually sag if constantly subjected to a heavy lead. This can be overcome by building a relieving or discharging arch over the lintel.

2004 Muqarnas 21 291 The portal, with its flat lintel, discharging arch, and cross vault.

1755 B. Franklin Let. 18 Mar. in Exper. & Observ. Electr. (1769) 325 I laid one end of my discharging rod upon the head of the first.

1813 J. M. Good et al. Pantologia at Electrical Battery Care should..be taken not to touch the wires..before the discharging rod be repeatedly applied to its sides.

1909 Pop. Mech. May 484/1 Brass balls are soldered to the upper ends of the discharging rods.