goingn.
/ˈɡəʊɪŋ/, U.S. /ˈɡoʊɪŋ/ 1.
a. The action of go v. (in various senses of the verb); (occasionally) an instance of this.Recorded earliest in going days n. at Compounds 2.
ΘΚΠ
society > travel > [noun]
yongc950
gangOE
goinga1250
walka1300
journeyingc1330
travela1400
progressionc1450
wayfarec1450
travelling1489
wayfaring1536
gate-going?1555
thorough-faring?1575
faring1594
fidging1604
voyaging1611
voyage1626
winning1651
locomotion1759
itinerating1770
passing1821
trekking1850
trooping1888
the world > movement > progressive motion > [noun]
goinga1250
passagec1300
passingc1350
progressiona1460
local motion1551
progress1564
pass1602
traverse1663
locomoving1704
roll1827
onwards1943
a1250 (?a1200) Ancrene Riwle (Nero) (1952) 188 (MED) Ȝe schulen eten..eueriche deie twie, bute uridawes and umbridawes and ȝoingdawes [a1400 Pepys goyng dayes] and uigiles.
1340 Ayenbite (1866) 254 Zuyche pilgrims þet willeþ guo zikerliche, hi doþ ham ofte ine guode uelaȝrede and ine zikere guoinge.
a1400 Psalter (Vesp.) xvi. 6 in C. Horstmann Yorkshire Writers (1896) II. 147 (MED) Fulmake mi steppes in sties þine, Þat noght be stired gainges mine.
a1500 (?a1450) Gesta Romanorum (Harl. 7333) (1879) 12 (MED) Ouer our hedis ys passage and goyng of peple.
1525 in State Papers Henry VIII (1849) VI. 513 On the morow..Your Highnes letters..arryvyd here, whiche stayde our goyng to thEmperour, unto we had perused them over.
a1616 W. Shakespeare Macbeth (1623) iii. iv. 118 Stand not vpon the order of your going, But go at once. View more context for this quotation
1619 F. Beaumont & J. Fletcher King & No King v. sig. L4v Prayers were made For her safe going, and deliuerie.
1705 W. Derham Let. 28 Mar. in H. Ellis Orig. Lett. Eminent Literary Men (1843) 317 Whether the vacuum affected the going of a pocket watch.
1791 T. Paine Common Sense (new ed.) 86 No going to law with nations.
1867 G. MacDonald Poems 120 That moment through the branches overhead, Sounds of a going went.
1884 N. S. Shaler First Bk. Geol. (1885) Directions to Teachers 16 The constant going of its [sc. a river's] current..can also be shown.
1912 J. E. Harrison Themis xi. 524 These represent rather the stationary aspect of the sun than his perennial motion... The going of the sun is represented by [etc.].
1965 Life 23 Apr. 102/3 We came up with the idea of his going with the Dorsey band.
2000 I. R. Bartky Selling True Time 251 Hipp's famous toggle for maintaining the going of a pendulum.
b. esp. Departure, leaving; (in later use sometimes spec.) departure from life, death (cf. passing n. 1a).
ΘΚΠ
the world > movement > motion in a certain direction > going away > [noun]
departing?c1225
partingc1300
withdrawingc1315
departc1330
wendingc1330
outpassinga1387
goinga1400
discessc1425
departisona1450
departmentc1450
going awayc1450
departition1470
departurec1515
recess1531
avoidance1563
parture1567
waygate1575
departance1579
exit1596
remotion1608
voiding1612
recession1630
recedence1641
recede1649
partment1663
recedure1712
leaving1719
off-going1727
quittance1757
departal1823
pull-out1825
pull-awaya1829
society > travel > aspects of travel > departure, leaving, or going away > [noun]
departing?c1225
partingc1300
departc1330
wendingc1330
going-outc1350
goinga1400
discessc1425
departisona1450
departmentc1450
departition1470
departurec1515
recess1531
avoidance1563
parture1567
waygate1575
departance1579
remotion1608
voiding1612
recede1649
partment1663
leaving1719
off-going1727
quittance1757
departal1823
waying1922
a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Trin. Cambr.) l. 3245 Þis mon made him redy soone Faste he hyȝed to his goyng.
1523 Ld. Berners tr. J. Froissart Cronycles I. f. cclviii/2 At his goyng he sware to his brother the erle of Cambrydge, that at his returnyng out of Scotlande..he wold hastely folowe hym.
c1560 (a1500) Squyr Lowe Degre (Copland) l. 273 Ye shall not want at your goyng Golde, nor sylver, nor other thyng.
1614 J. Donne Lett. (1651) 172 It spent me so little time after your going, that..I might have overtaken you.
1667 J. Milton Paradise Lost xi. 290 Thy going is not lonely, with thee goes Thy Husband. View more context for this quotation
1746 Whole Proc. House of Peers, upon Indictments against William Earl of Kilmarnock 18 What Distance of Time was there between their going and coming back?
1792 W. Cowper Let. 25 July (1984) IV. 157 Pray for us my friend that we may have a safe going and return.
1815 W. Wordsworth White Doe of Rylstone i. 11 The day is placid in its going.
1867 Blackwood's Edinb. Mag. Oct. 394/2 When her aunt had spoken of going hence or remaining here, Linda had not been quite sure whether the goings and remainings spoken of were wholly spiritual.
1896 R. Kipling Let. 30 Oct. (1990) II. 267 He [sc. Burne-Jones] felt Millais' going more than any one thought.
1914 H. James Let. 19 Sept. in H. James & E. Wharton Lett. (1990) vi. 301 I earnestly pray that I may find you still on the spot. I quite hate your going.
1976 Social Res. 43 3 It is difficult to picture..a world without Hannah Arendt. Her presence in it made a difference..; her going is a shattering blow.
1986 P. D. James Taste for Death (1989) iv. v. 315 Must have let herself out. I didn't see the going of her.
2003 R. MacFarlane Mountains of Mind (2004) vi. 174 With each step I tried to forget the memory of their going.
c. With preceding noun: the action of visiting the specified place, attending the specified event, etc., esp. regularly or habitually.churchgoing, cinema-going, festival-going, pub-going, theatre-going, etc.: see the first element.
ΚΠ
a1438 Bk. Margery Kempe (1940) i. 20 (MED) In wepyng, in pylgrimage goyng, in fastyng, er in any good word spekyng, it is fully my wyl [etc.].
a1568 R. Ascham Scholemaster (1570) ii. f. 55v Frugalitie in diet was priuately misliked: Towne going to good cheare openly vsed.
1789 Times 2 Nov. The country people give over play-going after having seen this wonder of the Drama.
1839 C. G. F. Gore Cabinet Minister I. ix. 171 ‘Is ball-going the only purpose of living in town?’ inquired Sir Henry coolly.
1867 I. Leeser Disc. Jewish Relig. 3rd. Ser. IX. v. 89 Synagogue-going is certainly a duty.
1893 N. Tamura Japanese Bride viii. 92 She will spend the greater part of her time in temple-going and in theatre-going.
1971 N.Y. Times 7 Sept. 31/1 The traditional Labor Day round of beach-going, cook-outs,..and traffic jams.
1997 Independent (Nexis) 5 Apr. 25 Gig-going in the capital has been made extra special by these events.
2015 Psychologies (U.K. ed.) May 111/1 With everything from workouts to meal plans only a click away, it looks like gym-going is being made somewhat redundant.
2. A path, a road, a route, a way; a passageway or gangway; a means of access. Now rare.
ΘΚΠ
society > travel > means of travel > route or way > way, passage, or means of access to a place > [noun]
patheOE
gangOE
gangwayOE
passagec1300
wenta1325
goingc1350
transit1440
way-wenta1450
accessa1460
traduct1535
conveyance1542
ancoming1589
passado1599
avenue1600
passageway?1606
pass1608
way-ganga1628
approach1633
duct1670
waygate?c1690
way-goa1694
vent1715
archway1802
passway1825
approach road1833
fairway1903
society > faith > artefacts > division of building (general) > aisle or passage > [noun]
alley1497
pace1499
going1516
aisle1646
pass1871
alure1878
c1350 Psalter (BL Add. 17376) in K. D. Bülbring Earliest Compl. Eng. Prose Psalter (1891) xvii. 40 Þou madest large my goynges [L. gressus] vnder me.
a1382 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Douce 369(1)) (1850) Isa. lxii. 10 Pleyn maketh the goyng [L. iter].
c1425 Edward, Duke of York Master of Game (Vesp. B.xii) (1904) 74 (MED) Pace þei clepyn goynges where a beest gooþ in þe routes where as he is passid.
?a1475 (?a1425) tr. R. Higden Polychron. (Harl. 2261) (1871) III. 377 The Sampnites hade stoppede the goenges with gre [sic] multitude of trees.
1516 in J. Raine Testamenta Eboracensia (1884) V. 73 To be buried..in the myddes of the loweste goyng, even enens my stall.
1577 W. Harrison Hist. Descr. Islande Brit. i. ix. f. 22/2, in R. Holinshed Chron. I Beyonde the which I find a narrow going or stricktland leading from the poynte to Hirst Castle.
1678 J. Bunyan Pilgrim's Progress 42 The narrow way lay right up the Hill (and the name of the going up the side of the Hill, is called Difficulty.) View more context for this quotation
c1720 N. Dubois & G. Leoni tr. A. Palladio Architecture III. xiii. 26 The going to the galleries..should have been by some few steps.
1863 G. Sykes Let. 27 Nov. in War of Rebellion (U.S. War Dept.) (1890) 1st Ser. XXIX. ii. xli. 501 I will not move beyond the road running from this one to Robertson's Tavern until I hear from you, as there is no other going to the pike laid down on the map ahead of where I now am.
1901 ‘Linesman’ Words by Eyewitness v. 101 A narrow path just above the water-line, overhung with bushes in parts, formed the ‘going’.
3. Chiefly with reference to a horse.† b. In plural. Paces (see pace n.1 6a). Obsolete.
a. Manner or style of walking or stepping; gait. Now rare.In quot. a1382 used with reference to driving a chariot.
ΘΚΠ
the world > movement > progressive motion > walking > [noun] > manner of walking
stepOE
gangOE
pacec1300
goinga1382
gait1509
motion1531
gature?1548
walk1567
gait-trip1582
tread1609
go1635
démarche1658
a1382 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Bodl. 959) (1963) 4 Kings ix. 20 Þe goynge [L. incessus] is as þe goynge of hieu þe sone of nampsy.
a1398 J. Trevisa tr. Bartholomaeus Anglicus De Proprietatibus Rerum (BL Add. 27944) (1975) II. xviii. xli. 1191 Take heede of þe horse colt, for goynge and paas, harde or softe, esy oþer vnesy.
1577 H. I. tr. H. Bullinger 50 Godlie Serm. I. ii. v. sig. K.viijv/2 To behaue him self decently in his going, and gesture of his body.
1704 Clarendon's Hist. Rebellion III. xi. 191 And the King, all the morning, found fault with the going of his Horse.
1713 W. Derham Physico-theol. ix. i. 435 It is a wonderful pretty Mechanism observable in the going of Multipedes, as the Juli, Scolopendræ, &c.
1805 W. Wordsworth Waggoner iv. 148 Erect his port, and firm his going.
1875 Star (Christchurch, N.Z.) 1 Nov. The pace all the way was not very slow, and the old horse's going was much admired.
1930 S. G. Goldschmidt Fellowship of Horse viii. 114 One must not hesitate to try and improve a horse's going by making some change—however insignificant it may appear.
ΘΚΠ
the world > animals > mammals > group Ungulata (hoofed) > family Equidae (general equines) > horse defined by speed or gait > [noun] > type(s) of gait
pacec1450
train1575
gaits1684
going1690
1690 London Gaz. No. 2590/4 [The Mare] hath all her Goings, but ambles most.
1699 Post Boy 29 July (advt.) He is a thin Horse, about 8 or 9 Years old, and hath all his Goings.
1766 Compl. Farmer at Walk The slowest, and least raised of all a horse's goings.
1828 Farrier & Naturalist Sept. 388 Experienced Horsemen are not always agreed in some points relating to the Shape, Make, and Goings of a horse.
ΘΚΠ
the world > movement > progressive motion > walking > [noun] > power of
gangOE
goinga1387
foota1400
ganginga1400
walks1593
a1387 J. Trevisa tr. R. Higden Polychron. (St. John's Cambr.) (1879) VII. 37 Þe halt man feng his goynge ariȝt [?a1475 anon. tr. hade his goynge to hym; L. gressum].
c1400 Brut (Rawl. B. 171) 229 God haþ ȝeuen to creples hir goyng.
a1450 St. Katherine (Richardson 44) (1884) 37 By whos myghty vertu goynge is restored to þe lame.
1542 T. Becon Newe Pathway vnto Praier ix. sig. E.vv In the newe Testament, the blynde prayed for theyr syght, ye lame for theyr goynge, the deafe for theyr hearynge, the sycke for theyr helth.
1662 W. Prynne Moderate, Seasonable Apol. i. 44 This is the name that gave the blind sight, the deaf hearing, the lame going, the dumb speech, the dead life.
1745 R. Challoner Britannia Sancta I. 35 It was a common thing with him to give sight to the blind, hearing to the deaf, speech to the dumb, going to the lame.
ΚΠ
c1400 (?a1387) W. Langland Piers Plowman (Huntington HM 137) (1873) C. xxi. l. 328 As þow by-gyledest godes ymage in goynge of an addre, So haþ god by-gyled ous alle in goynge of a wye [i.e. a man].
6.
a. Progress (originally in terms of physical motion) as helped or hindered by the condition or nature of the ground, or (later more generally) the particular circumstances, subject matter, etc. Chiefly with adjective indicating the manner of progress, as slow, etc.while the going is good: see Phrases 2.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > difficulty > [noun]
arvethnessc1000
painc1330
difficultya1382
hardnessc1384
wondsome?a1400
hardheada1425
painfulnessa1530
difficult?1532
difficultness1549
awkness1587
uneasiness1594
difficileness1612
arduity1623
problem1641
difficacity1656
going1678
arduousness1731
catch-arse1970
the world > movement > motion in a certain direction > forward movement > [noun] > as helped or hindered by ground
running order1773
going1925
1678 J. Bunyan Pilgrim's Progress 181 Then he went to the stile to see, and Beheld a Path... 'Tis according to my wish, said Christian. Here is the easiest going . View more context for this quotation
1682 M. Rowlandson Soveraignty & Goodness of God (ed. 2) 47 Then we came to a great Swamp, through which we travelled up to the knees, in mud and water, which was heavy going to one tyred before.
1773 O. Goldsmith She stoops to Conquer v. 104 Forty miles in four hours was very good going.
1837 New Sporting Mag. June 373 It was slow going for about a mile further.
1878 C. D. Warner In Wilderness 68 It was slow going for the slender legs [of the fawn], over the fallen logs, and through the rasping bushes.
1913 Jrnl. Amer. Foundrymen's Assoc. 21 324b It is hard going and tries my patience lots of times, but I would like to get all the strength I can out of titanium.
1925 E. F. Norton in E. F. Norton et al. Fight for Everest: 1924 114 We made very poor going, descending at a very much slower pace than we had made two years before.
1962 Motor Boating May 146/2 Both boats reported excellent going and Y Como's skipper said it was his easiest Ensenada Race.
2011 B. Bara Sewing in Straight Line 15 It may be slow going, but hand-sewing can be wonderfully meditative and relaxing.
b. Condition of the ground in terms of its suitability for walking, riding, etc., esp. (in later use) for horse racing. Also in extended use. See also heavy going n. at heavy adj.1 and n. Compounds 3.
ΘΚΠ
the world > the earth > land > ground > [noun] > condition for movement
rideability1793
tread1820
going1823
underfooting1948
runnability1982
society > travel > means of travel > route or way > [noun] > considered as easy or difficult to follow
going1823
1823 National Advocate (N.Y.) 14 Feb. Several of the companies repaired to the spot, although the snow was considerably deep, and the going very bad.
1827 New-Hampsh. Statesman 6 Jan. Tax'd travellers how slow they go, When, on bad going, jaded down, They near the skirt of some shire town.
1840 W. Hough Narr. March & Operations Army of Indus xiii. 297 The last is the longest and greatest descent. The whole road stony, and must be very difficult going to Cabool.
1861 Era 7 July 4/2 A nice herbage sprang up, which rendered the going as soft as velvet.
1901 Outing Mar. 709/1 For a sprint of anything under a quarter of a mile, where the going is firm and fairly level, the cheetah will overhaul the swiftest greyhound.
1935 Economist 5 Oct. 647/1 The ‘going’ was then still good. For the immediate future during the last quarter of the year, the ‘going’ in the new capital market seems likely to be heavy and uneven.
1952 T. Armstrong Adam Brunskill xiv. 467 In places the going was firm, elsewhere only the most strenuous endeavour prevented bogging-down, axle-deep.
1986 New Scientist 3 Apr. 39/2 The runners in this race must be aged at least three and the going is good to firm.
2002 Dartmoor Visitor Summer 8/2 Avoid galloping, particularly when the going is soft.
c. Terrain, esp. considered in regard to the ease or difficulty of traversing it.
ΚΠ
1884 M. J. B. Baddeley & C. S. Ward North Wales 191 The going consists of stones and ruts concealed by heather to such an extent that almost every step is a matter of careful consideration.
1903 H. A. Bryden Hare-hunting & Harriers 137 On the hills, the going consists [of] a good deal of light plough.
1908 A. P. Abraham Rock-climbing in Skye 204 A few feet down on the Coruisk side the going was more sheltered.
1934 Royal Engineers Jrnl. 48 446 The going consisted of good hard gravel, on rolling downs.
2001 S. S. Warren 100 Classic Hikes in Colorado xciv. 219/1 Turn right to begin the short but rugged ascent out of Pollock Canyon. Here again, the going consists of scrambling up steep rocks along severe drop-offs.
d. The circumstances of or conditions for an endeavour; the progress of an undertaking or activity considered in terms of its ease or difficulty. Chiefly with adjectives indicating adversity, as rough, tough, hot, etc. Cf. when the going gets tough, the tough get going at Phrases 4.
ΚΠ
1904 Boston Post 7 June 3/1 The going was rough at times and both men persisted in violations of their agreement to break clean.
1913 Galveston (Texas) Daily News 9 Mar. 6/1 You ought to see me cutting up some afternoons when the going is tough.
1933 S. Walker Night Club Era 77 The cabaret, during the war and immediately afterward, found the going tough.
1971 New Yorker 21 Aug. 39 And do you, Elizabeth, take this man, John, to have and to hold, to love and to cherish, until the going gets hairy?
1987 Daily Express 28 Mar. 2 He praised Mrs Thatcher for refusing to change course when the going was rough.
2009 C. Neilan Abattoir Jack xiii. 89 People know that when the going gets tough, I'm a guy who can throw them a bone.
e. With preceding modifying adjective. Performance, execution; level of accomplishment or achievement. Used to indicate a successful undertaking, esp. in interjections expressing approbation of a person's efforts, as good going!, great going!, nice going!, etc.
ΚΠ
1914 Anaconda (Montana) Standard 29 Mar. iii. 10/6 The ex-champion cleaned up $17,828.50... Pretty good going for an ex-champion.
1938 Sun (Baltimore) 20 June 8/2 Ruth said, ‘Nice going, kid,’ and that simple compliment pleased the young Cincinnati pitcher more than all of the other praises he received.
1964 ‘F. W. Dixon’ Secret of Caves xx. 168 ‘Great going, dad!’ Frank exclaimed.
1996 Business Age June 24/2 There are now over 20,000 subscribers—not bad going for a company without a consumer advertising budget.
2009 J. Rice Church of Facebook ii. 79 I heard you guys won the game last week—nice going!
7. Building. The distance travelled forward, measured horizontally, by a person going up or down a flight or set of stairs; the horizontal distance between the riser of one step and that of the next. Formerly sometimes also: †the width of a stairway or step (obsolete).
ΘΚΠ
society > inhabiting and dwelling > inhabited place > a building > parts of building > stairs > [noun] > width of staircase
going1712
1712 J. James tr. A.-J. Dézallier d'Argenville Theory & Pract. Gardening ii. iii. 125 A..Rest of two Paces broad, and as long as the Going of the Stairs [Fr. aussi long que le perron].
1734 R. Morris Lect. Archit. vii. 111 If by Chance two Persons meet on a Stair-case with Winders, and the Going is not more than ordinarily large, their Passage is incommoded.
1825 ‘J. Nicholson’ Operative Mechanic 596 The risers and treads..ought not to be less than one eighth of an inch, supposing the going of the stair, or length of the step, to be four feet.
1842 J. Gwilt Encycl. Archit. ii. iii. 577 Where the space of the going of the stairs is confined, the French have long since introduced..the practice of placing the balusters outside the steps, which affords more room for persons ascending and descending.
1879 Carpentry & Building Feb. 24/2 The base of the triangle which any pitch-board makes is always the exact going of the steps, and its perpendicular is the hight [sic] of a riser.
1904 G. F. Goodchild & C. F. Tweney Technol. & Sci. Dict. 38/1 Balanced Steps, the method of arranging the steps of geometrical stairs to increase the going (width) at the small ends of the winders, and to give a better falling line to the handrail.
1980 Amateur Gardening 25 Oct. 30/3 It is best if the ‘going’ (the tread depth) is not less than 12 in.
2010 L. Goring Man. 1st & 2nd Fixing Carpentry (ed. 3) x. 116/1 Tapered steps usually replace landings to improve the headroom and when the ‘going’ of the staircase is greatly restricted.
Phrases
a. In simple predicative use: in the process of, or in the state or condition of, going (in various senses of the verb). Obsolete.
ΚΠ
1526 W. Bonde Pylgrimage of Perfection i. sig. Ciii The iourney..towarde the hye Jerusalem in heuen: to the whiche we be in goyng.
1610 A. Browne tr. St. Bonaventure Life Father S. Francis xi. 127 And see euen as they were in going, the holy man..came out of his Cell.
b. As an object complement after keep, set, etc.: in or into a state of motion, activity, etc. Obsolete.
ΚΠ
1602 A. Munday tr. 3rd Pt. Palmerin of Eng. xxxi. f. 85v The wheele was set on going againe, and the foure Giants prepared a new to assaile him.
1608 T. Dekker Belman of London (new ed.) sig. C4 The fumes of drinke, which..set her tongue in going.
1624 F. Bacon Considerations War with Spain (1629) 5 This wheele set on going, did power a Warre vpon the Venetians.
a1673 T. Horton 100 Select Serm. (1679) xxxix. f. 299/2 It is a word behind thee: So as there where thou keepest behind, to set thee on going.
1726 G. Leoni tr. L. B. Alberti Architecture II. 10/1 Very hard to stop when once it is set on going.
1774 Monthly Rev. 50 App. 565 The machinery for keeping a clock in going while it is wound up.
P2. colloquial (originally U.S.). while the going is good: while the conditions are favourable (esp. for fleeing or for getting out of trouble); formerly frequently in to go while the going is good.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > advantage > [phrase] > while conditions are favourable
while the going is good1830
1830 Observer & Telegr. (Hudson, Ohio) 25 Nov. The American Bible Society should..lose no time this autumn while the going is good and the weather mild, in putting the sacred treasure into the last destitute family within their limits.
1906 H. Blossom (title of song) Go while the goin' is good.
1907 La Crosse (Wisconsin) Tribune 4 Oct. 2/1 The offer..will positively not be repeated, so it's best to go while the going is good.
1916 H. L. Mencken Let. 10 July (1961) 85 You would be a maniac not to go out for all that money while the going is good.
1927 H. Waddell Wandering Scholars ii. 48 Warned in time, the two..had gone while the going was good.
1994 J. Galloway Foreign Parts vii. 108 I think we cut and run, go while the going is good and don't chance our luck.
2006 L. Ellmann Doctors & Nurses (2007) 197 Jen hauled her sorry ass out of there while the going was still good.
P3. in the early (also late, etc.) going: in the early, late, etc., stages (esp. of a race or other contest).
ΚΠ
1898 Hawaiian Gaz. 17 May 6/1 Directress..did not respond as was expected by her admirers and backers, though she had made a splendid showing in the early going of the heat.
1938 Princeton Alumni Weekly 18 Mar. 541/1 Sixty yards off the 4:074 masterpiece of the Kansas robot, and pushed around in the early going, Bradley's time was 4:15.
1965 Lebanon (Pa.) Daily News 19 Mar. 10/5 Some of the biggest names in the tournament had trouble..in the initial going.
1993 D. K. Henderson Interpr. & Explan. Human Sci. iii. 51 Where the principle of charity is significantly constraining in interpretation, namely in the earlier going, it plays a largely preparatory role.
2009 New Yorker 30 Nov. 31/3 Their manager..stood in the late going with one foot up on the step of the dugout.
P4. Originally U.S. Proverb. when the going gets tough, the tough get going: pressure or adversity acts as a stimulus to those of strong character. Also with variation of the main clause, frequently with humorous intent.
ΚΠ
1954 Bakersfield Californian 4 May 26/5 He [sc. Frank Leahy] also inserted his own personal football motto in to the dialogue: ‘When the going gets tough, the tough get going.’
1955 Mich. Alumnus 22 Oct. 61/1 A prophetic message was prominently posted in the Michigan training room..before the Minnesota game: When the going gets tough, the tough get going.
1962 J. H. Cutler Honey Fitz xx. 291 Joe [Kennedy] made his children stay on their toes... ‘He would bear down on them and tell them, “When the going gets tough, the tough get going”’.
1992 Jrnl. Prop. Managem. July 33/2 A humorous letter explained that..‘When the going gets tough, the tough eat chocolate.’
2004 Time 24 May 33/3 In this Administration, when the going gets tough, the tough go to Baghdad.
Compounds
C1. With adverbs.
a. Chiefly in sense 1, with reference to motion, departure, change of position, etc. See also going away n., going-out n.
ΚΠ
c1350 Psalter (BL Add. 17376) in K. D. Bülbring Earliest Compl. Eng. Prose Psalter (1891) xviii. 6 His going-out [L. egressio] is fram þe heȝest heuene.
c1425 (c1400) Prymer (Cambr.) (1895) 3 (MED) His goyng out was fro þe hiȝeste heuene. And his goynge aȝen was to þe hiȝeste þer-of.
c1450 (?c1400) Three Kings Cologne (Cambr. Ee.4.32) (1886) 144 (MED) Þis iij kyngis in her goyngoute and in her commyng-aȝene passed by.
1560 Bible (Geneva) Dan. ix. 25 The going forthe of the commandement..to builde Ierusalem.
1577 R. Holinshed Chron. II. 611/2 The goyng ouer of Lewes nowe..broughte no small hyndrance to the whole state of all his businesse.
1599 H. Buttes Dyets Dry Dinner sig. F3 The fourth day of her going abroad.
1656 T. Blount Glossographia Circumrotation, the going about of a wheel.
1730 N. Bailey et al. Dictionarium Britannicum A March, the going forward of an Army.
1824 S. E. Ferrier Inheritance I. xxviii. 314 The nuptials, which they merely thought of as Bell's going off.
1850 ‘Bat’ Cricketer's Man. (rev. ed.) 46 Place the order of going in, on the left-hand side of the striker's name.
1918 Fort Wayne (Indiana) News & Sentinel 7 Dec. 2/6 At noon the next day we started out to get up in time for the going over [i.e. ‘going over the top’] in the a.m.
a1935 T. E. Lawrence Mint (1955) ii. xv. 141 The R.A.F. claims to order our sitting and standing, our lying down and our going forth.
1959 A. Huxley Let. 10 Jan. (1969) 864 It entails a temporary death of the ego, a going-beyond.
1990 T. Korver Fictitious Commodity ii. 16 The relative decline of the Northeast..is partly an effect of the shift in activity enabled by the railroads (e.g., the going south of textiles).
2005 T. Grandin & C. Johnson Animals in Transl. ii. 39 The animals hate having to push through the gate. That's the problem, the going-through.
b. With particular adverbs in specialized senses, frequently corresponding to phrasal uses of the verb.† going to n. Obsolete = going down n.
going back n. now rare deterioration, decline.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > goodness and badness > badness or evil > worse > [noun] > making or becoming
impairingc1380
failinga1382
aggrievance1502
decaying1530
fading1578
worsinga1583
rusting1597
degeneration1607
degenerating1611
improvementa1617
going back1631
aggravidizationa1641
disimprovement1649
decidence1655
deterioration1658
pejoration1658
exaggeration1661
marasmus1681
sinking1701
unimprovement1760
worsening1811
worsering1883
1631 M. Drayton Battaile of Agincourt 104 In either Kingdome all things went to wracke.., Nor could they stay them in their going backe.
a1642 H. Best Farming & Memorandum Bks. (1984) 31 After a longe declininge and goinge backe.
1906 E. W. Hilgard Soils x. 186 Among the causes of failure occasionally found in the case of the ‘going-back’ of orchards, is the occurrence of strongly calcareous or marly substrata.
going down n. the setting of the sun or other celestial objects; sunset; also figurative.
ΘΚΠ
the world > the universe > sun > solar movement > [noun] > setting
sunsetOE
going downa1382
downhielda1400
downfalling1422
downgate1440
gate-downc1440
sunsetting1440
going under1490
occasionc1540
going to1581
setting sun1591
set of day1623
earthrise1918
c1350 Psalter (BL Add. 17376) in K. D. Bülbring Earliest Compl. Eng. Prose Psalter (1891) xlix. 2 (MED) Fram þe sonne arisyng vn-to þe going a-doune [L. ab ortu solis usque ad occasum eius].]
a1382 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Bodl. 959) (1959) Exod. xvii. 12 Þe hondis of hym weryeden not: vnto þe goyng doun of þe sonn [L. occasum solis].
c1425 Bk. Found. St. Bartholomew's (1923) 12 (MED) The fame of this place schall attayne frome the spryng of the sunne to the goynge downe.
1559 W. Cuningham Cosmogr. Glasse 18 Th'use of this Circle is right excellent, for by it we finde out the rysing, & goyng downe of euery Planet & Starre.
1582 N. Lichefield tr. F. L. de Castanheda 1st Bk. Hist. Discouerie E. Indias ix. 22 Vpon the Saterday..about the going doune of the Sunne.
1760 Proc. Old Bailey 11 Feb. 621/1 I met the prisoner on the main road, about the going down of the sun.
1836 C. Dickens Pickwick Papers (1837) ii. 22 Mr. Winkle looked up at the declining orb, and painfully thought of the probability of his ‘going down’ himself, before long.
1867 A. D. Whitney Summer in Leslie Goldthwaite's Life iv. 50 They watched the long, golden going-down of the sun.
1917 W. B. Yeats Wild Swans at Coole 15 From going-down of the sun.
1941 A. Thaler Shakespeare & Democracy iv. 99 The scene..is after the going down of the moon, which disappeared at twelve.
2010 R. Cohen Chasing Sun vi. 499 In nearly all cultures, the splendors that light up the horizon at the Sun's going down are celebrated for their beauty.
going off n. now chiefly Newfoundland the start, the outset (cf. go-off n.); chiefly (in later use only) in first going off in same sense (sometimes as adverbial phrase).
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > order > order, sequence, or succession > beginning > [noun]
ordeOE
thresholdeOE
frumthc950
anginOE
frumeOE
worthOE
beginninga1225
springc1225
springc1225
commencementc1250
ginninga1300
comsingc1325
entryc1330
aginning1340
alphac1384
incomea1400
formec1400
ingressc1420
birtha1425
principlea1449
comsementa1450
resultancec1450
inition1463
inceptiona1483
entering1526
originala1529
inchoation1530
opening1531
starting1541
principium1550
entrance1553
onset1561
rise1589
begin1590
ingate1591
overture1595
budding1601
initiationa1607
starting off1616
dawninga1631
dawn1633
impriminga1639
start1644
fall1647
initial1656
outset1664
outsettinga1698
going off1714
offsetting1782
offset1791
commence1794
aurora1806
incipiency1817
set-out1821
set-in1826
throw-off1828
go-off1830
outstart1844
start1857
incipience1864
oncome1865
kick-off1875
off-go1886
off1896
get-go1960
lift-off1967
1714 Philos. Trans. 1713 (Royal Soc.) 28 41 Its Flowers are very small, and frequently at going off have but 2 bifid Petals.
1797 True Briton 29 Dec. I..repeat my desire to you to recollect yourself of..all I said at that time from the first going off.
1818 Blackwood's Edinb. Mag. Nov. 133/2 I was delighted to see a little..black boy..get above all the big fellows at the first going off, and keep the head of the class throughout the whole trial.
1836 E. A. Poe Peter Snook in Southern Literary Messenger Oct. 728/2 Had one tumble, first going off, at Margate. Spoilt my peagreen.
1872 J. A. Lanigan Eithne iii. iii. 35 Hands off, sir, yer a little too familiar, at the first goin' off.
1929 Times of India 19 Feb. 15/2 The way he beat the little Yorkshireman first going off, I would not have been surprised to have seen him worry the others.
1977 Connaught Tel. 11 May 3/4 The council's..ineptitude..in buying the property at such an astronomically inflated price in the first going off.
1987 G. Fizzard Unto Sea 135 I fished on Green Island for 34 summers. First goin' off, we used to go in punts.
2001 St John's (Newfoundland) Telegram (Nexis) 14 Apr. 11 In the first going off, it sounded hopelessly naive.
ΘΚΠ
the world > the universe > sun > solar movement > [noun] > setting
sunsetOE
going downa1382
downhielda1400
downfalling1422
downgate1440
gate-downc1440
sunsetting1440
going under1490
occasionc1540
going to1581
setting sun1591
set of day1623
earthrise1918
1581 N. Burne Disput. Headdis of Relig. xiv. f. 42v In euerie place fra the sone rysing to the going to of the same, thair salbe offerit to my name ane clene sacrifice.
1622 R. Hawkins Observ. Voiage South Sea xxvii. 60 The twenty two of this moneth, at the going too of the Sunne, we descryed a Portingall ship, and gaue her chase.
a1650 D. Calderwood Hist. Kirk Scotl. (1845) VII. 548 Upon Monday, the 3d of June [1622], there was a fyrie dragon, both great and long, appeared to come from the south to the north, spouting fire from her, halfe an houre efter the going to of the sunne.
going together n. †(a) [after classical Latin coitus coit n.] (an act of) copulation (obsolete); (b) the action or fact of ‘going steady’, or of being in a romantic relationship.
ΚΠ
a1382 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Bodl. 959) (1961) Num. xxxi. 17 Sle ȝe..wymmen þat han knowyn men in goynge to geders [L. in coitu].]
1583 P. Stubbes Anat. Abuses sig. Gviiiv All other goinges together and coitions are damnable.
1662 J. Davies tr. A. Olearius Voy. & Trav. Ambassadors vii. 294 Their going together, without any shame, and publickly, after the manner of Beasts.
1880 Racine (Wisconsin) Daily Argus 25 Sept. [She] is making life miserable and dangerous for her son and a servant girl with whom he keeps company. She is much opposed to their going together.
1915 Federal Reporter 220 579 Miss Warrington, we have to quit our going together; we have to cut it out; everybody is getting onto us.
1988 N. Sadiq Heartbreak High xiii. 109 Their parents are not that keen on their going together, Mom... Tariq said his mom doesn't like Jewish people.
going under n. now rare = going down n.
ΘΚΠ
the world > the universe > sun > solar movement > [noun] > setting
sunsetOE
going downa1382
downhielda1400
downfalling1422
downgate1440
gate-downc1440
sunsetting1440
going under1490
occasionc1540
going to1581
setting sun1591
set of day1623
earthrise1918
1490 W. Caxton tr. Boke yf Eneydos xxii. sig. Fiiij Atte euen about ye gooyng vnder of ye sonne.
1679 E. Halley Plain Declar. Heavens Flatform 1 You wil see the dial to lye upon 8 a clock in the evening, being the going under of the Sun.
1917 J. Campbell tr. P. H. Pearse Coll. Wks. 289 A conversation that took place between Eoineen of the Birds and his mother, one evening of spring, before the going under of the sun.
C2. † going board n. Mining Obsolete a board (board n. 16) along which coal is currently being brought.† going days n. Obsolete (historical in later use) = Rogation Days n. at rogation n. Compounds 2; cf. Gang Day n.
going barrel n. Watchmaking and Clockmaking a barrel (barrel n. 5b) having a cogged wheel on one face, so that by the uncoiling of the spring inside it the barrel is turned and the train of gears driven.A going barrel enables the timepiece to be wound without interrupting the tension of the spring.
ΚΠ
1826 T. Reid Treat. Clock & Watch Making 390 As one [sc. a rope] of a considerably smaller diameter, even one-half, would suit the going part, the going barrel may be made shorter.
1881 F. J. Britten Watch & Clockmakers' Handbk. (ed. 4) 71 The keyless mechanism most generally adopted in English going-barrel watches.
1948 A. L. Rawlings Sci. Clocks & Watches (ed. 2) xiv. 240 Most spring clocks and watches have a ‘going barrel,’ which is in one piece with the first wheel of the train.
2011 L. Williams Echo Chamber iii. 30 The watch's rusty hand was succeeded by a misaligned going-barrel, a broken arbor, an impulse which spun too slowly.
ΚΠ
1849 G. C. Greenwell Gloss. Terms Coal Trade Northumberland & Durham 29 The coals are brought down a board for one, two, or more pillars..to the crane. This board is called the going (or ‘gannen’) board.
1868 R. Scott Treat. Ventilation of Coal Mines 26 Now, observe the fourth board north of the mothersgate or common going board, and northernmost shaded blue, to east.
1898 Votes & Proc. Legislative Assembly 1897 (New South Wales) III. Stockton Colliery Disaster 49 Twenty minutes after the change was made in regard to the ventilation there was a current of air flowing up the going-board.
ΚΠ
a1250Ȝoingdawes [see sense 1a].
1853 tr. Whole Wks. King Alfred the Great III. 127 He that stealeth on Sunday night, or..at Easter, or on Holy Thursday, and on Going-days (Rogation days) for each of them we will there be twain-boot, as on Lenten fast.
1877 F. G. Lee Gloss. Liturg. & Eccl. Terms 35 Gang-days, going days, i.e. Rogation days, when processions take place.
going fusee n. Watchmaking and Clockmaking (now historical) a fusee containing a circular spring so as to maintain the power to the train during winding.
ΚΠ
1767 N. Maskelyne in J. Harrison Princ. Time-keeper Notes p. xv A spring in the inside of the fusee, to keep it going while winding up.]
1773 T. Hatton Introd. Clock & Watch Work 30 The going fusee..is to keep the watch going while winding up.
1838 Penny Cycl. XII. 301/1 When this principle [sc. maintaining power] is applied to a fusee, it is termed a going fusee.
1931 Times 20 Apr. 10/2 Harrison first used the ‘going fusee’ in his No. 1 marine timekeeper, begun in 1729 and completed in 1735.
going order n. = working order n. 1.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > in operation [phrase] > in working order
going order1801
on wheels1914
1801 Morning Post & Gazetteer 30 Sept. (advt.) Wanted to rent..a bolting mill, in present going order.
1817 Rep. Comm. Petitions of Watchmakers Coventry 87 in Parl. Papers (H.C. 504) VI. 285 I have..one [sc. a watch] made in the year 1660 for the chief burgomaster of Hamburgh... It was given to me by his descendant, and is now in going order.
1887 B. St. J. Bellairs Gossips with Girls ii. 92 To keep her eyes in ‘going order’..without being obliged to resort to glasses.
1903 Economist 8 Aug. 1387/2 When the Commonwealth Government is in full going order, the outlook is that the estimated cost will be largely exceeded.
1972 Museums Jrnl. June 24/1 A turret clock by John Davis of Windsor (1783) has been restored to going order.
2002 M. Bygraves Stars in my Eyes 160 I asked whether he was interested in..a Queen Anne bicycle in going order.
going part n. Clockmaking (now historical) the part of a clock mechanism concerned with measuring time and driving the hands, as distinct from the part that controls the striking of the hours or chiming.
ΚΠ
1809 W. Nicholson Brit. Encycl. II. at Clock Having now described the going part of the clock, it remains to describe the mechanism by which the hours are struck.
1851 R. Hunt Hand-bk. Official Catal. Great Exhib. I. 318 The hammers all stand ready to fall as soon as they are discharged by the going part.
1903 E. Beckett Rudimentary Treat. Clocks, Watches & Bells 392 For this purpose, the clock is divided; the going part, and the chiming machine, being in the N. tower.., and the striking train in the S. tower.
1975 A. Smith Antique Collector's Guide Clocks & Watches v. 103/1 The striking train is housed between the same plates as the going part.
going train n. Watchmaking and Clockmaking the train of wheels that turns the hands.
ΚΠ
1829 Mechanics' Mag. 6 June 264/2 The pinions are all brass, except the last in the going train.
1938 H. Cescinsky Old Eng. Master Clockmakers & Their Clocks ix. 113 It puts a spring in action which exerts power on the going train of the clock, which becomes spring-driven, instead of weight-driven, for a period of time sufficient for the act of winding.
2010 C. McKay Big Ben ii. 12/2 In the middle of the clock movement is the going train, which tells the time and drives the dials.
going wheel n. Watchmaking and Clockmaking a wheel of the going train.
ΚΠ
1824 Glasgow Mechanics' Mag. 31 Jan. 67/2 In the inside of the frames there are placed just the common going wheels.
1859 Family Cycl. (Ward & Lock) 115/1 The mechanism of a church clock may be divided into five parts:—1st, the Moving Power; 2nd, the Movement, or Going-wheels; 3rd, the Regulation or Pendulum Arrangements; [etc.].
1963 Bull. National Assoc. Watch & Clock Collectors Dec. 50/2 The going wheels were then taken to the kitchen..to be washed and polished.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2015; most recently modified version published online June 2022).
goingadj.
/ˈɡəʊɪŋ/, U.S. /ˈɡoʊɪŋ/ 1. † a. That walks or goes on foot; able to walk. Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
the world > movement > progressive motion > [adjective] > moving along
goingc1275
passantc1330
travelling1340
c1275 (?a1200) Laȝamon Brut (Calig.) (1978) 8990 Hæ hede..ahtene þusen ohtere kempen & of ganninde [c1300 Otho goinge] uolke swa feole þusend.
a1398 J. Trevisa tr. Bartholomaeus Anglicus De Proprietatibus Rerum (BL Add. 27944) (1975) II. xviii. i. 1101 Somme goynge bestes wiþ complete and euene lippes drynkeþ sowkyng.
a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Trin. Cambr.) l. 401 Alle goynge beestis..he made.
1562 W. Bullein Bk. Use Sicke Men f. 21v, in Bulwarke of Defence All liuyng things haue sleepe, as swymming, flying, and goyng creatures.
a1656 R. Vines Gods Drawing (1662) 96 The understanding is like the seeing man that rides upon the shoulders of the blind but going man.
1668 Bp. J. Wilkins Ess. Real Char. ii. vi. 171 Trunk or Proboscis, and Egg do belong to some Going Animals, as well as to Flying.
1846 A. M. Gilliam Trav. Mexico xiii. 226 I was..to receive the benefit of a short jaunt upon the most delightful of all the going animals [sc. a Mexican horse] ever subjected to the dominion of human beings.
b. More generally: moving, travelling.
(a) Simply. Sometimes implying ‘active, vigorous’. Now rare.In quot. 1340 as n.: a traveller.
ΚΠ
1340 Ayenbite (1866) 196 (MED) Iob..ne onworþede neure þe guoinde, vor þet hi weren naked.
1618 J. Taylor in T. Coryate Coriat to his Friends sig. a It bred Two going feet to beare one running head.
1721 J. Kelly Compl. Coll. Scotish Prov. 11 A going Foot is ay getting, if it were but a Thorn.
1732 R. Robertson Detection State & Situation Sugar Planters 57 'Till they have done with the Going Men (as these Planters call the Transient Traders).
1832 A. Brown Jrnl. 8 Sept. in C. S. Brown Memoir Rev. Abel Brown (1849) iv. 34 He is a going man, and may the Lord bless his labors.
1907 Educ. Bi-monthly Oct. 71 Man is a going creature, and if idle he tires more than if he works.
1927 Amer. Mercury Apr. 411/1 Had he been an actual vagabond his going feet would have been more fluid on this delectable spring day.
(b) With preceding modifying adverb or adjective indicating the manner or direction of travel.homeward-going, slow-going, etc.: see the first element.
ΚΠ
1623 W. Lisle in tr. Ælfric Saxon Treat. Old & New Test. sig. K Make me now ready a well going horse.
1765 E. Kimber Maria (ed. 2) I. xii. 182 He had saddled Dobin, as being the best-going Beast they had.
1850 J. H. Keane tr. G. J. A. de Stassart Fables ii. xiii. 53 He hailed an outward-going ship, And met a merchant friend therein.
1873 W. H. H. Murray Perfect Horse i. 33 A low-going horse loses less time in his stride than a high-going one.
1875 Law Mag. & Rev. Nov. 148 Held..that a slowly going vessel overtaken at night had not neglected any ordinary precaution within Art. 20 of Regulations for Preventing Collisions at Sea.
1914 C. W. Gay Productive Horse Husbandry v. 60 An erratic disposition and a low going trot.
1993 Horse & Rider Dec. 16/2 They must ‘adjust’ their horses as early as possible in front of the fence, and approach on a forward-going, round stride.
2001 S. Elliott Signal Processing for Active Control i. 21 The power output of the primary source can be reduced by reflecting the outward-going wave back towards the primary source.
(c) With preceding noun denoting the medium or region through which motion or travel takes place; esp. in seagoing adj.
ΚΠ
1829 F. Marryat Naval Officer I. x. 296 I should be sent out..in some sea-going ship.
1885 W. W. Gill in J. Chalmers & W. W. Gill Work & Adventures New Guinea ii. i. 258 We were fortunate in seeing two lakatoi or Gulf-going crafts.
1931 C. G. Wilson Chinatown Quest vii. 95 Each evening..this river-going group would rest on the well-scrubbed deck.
1944 Amazing Stories Sept. 136/1 Find another sucker to handle your space-going coffin.
1969 D. F. Costello Prairie World (1975) viii. 155 The one species which comes near to being a prairie-going amphibian is the tiger salamander (Ambystoma tigrinum ).
1995 New Scientist 1 Apr. 44/1 Everett C. Olson..contributed so much to the study of early land-going vertebrates.
c. With preceding noun: that (esp. regularly or habitually) attends or visits a specified place (for purposes of worship, entertainment, etc.), or constitutes the audience for a specified form of entertainment.Earliest in churchgoing adj. theatre-going, film-going, etc.: see the first element.
ΚΠ
1632 ‘T. T.’ Whetstone of Reproofe 31 Diuerse of his maiesties subiects, who euen at this day goe to your Churches, whom neuerthelesse you your selues hould for none of yours: but therefore doe commonly terme them Church going Papists.
1752 T. Mozeen Young Scarron ii. 26 The whole Town are Play-going People.
1771 Public Advertiser 21 Dec. 2/4 The noisy, turbulent, Tavern-going Men are not fit for your Purpose.
1778 London Packet 23 Sept. 1/1 There are another set of coffee-house-going people still worse than those I have written of.
1812 R. H. in Examiner 22 Nov. 747/2 A religious, churchgoing, professor.
1838 Monthly Chron. 2 94 One of those quiet club-going creatures who are wisely satisfied with the present condition of the negro apprentices.
1850 Relig. of Greeks 21 in Chambers's Papers for People VI The idea of systematically accommodating all the temple-going population with sitting-room at one time was never thought of.
1916 Moving Picture World 4 Mar. 1497/2 Many of the film-going public seem to entertain the idea that the making of motion pictures of this kind is merely a pleasant pastime.
1979 H. Fierstein Widows & Children First! in Torch Song Trilogy 121 You've..turned him into a home-living, fun-loving, school-going teenager.
2012 N.Y. Times Mag. 22 Apr. 72/1 Fernand Point was not one of your gym-going, globe-trotting..chefs.
d. That departs, leaves, or goes away from a place.
ΘΚΠ
society > travel > aspects of travel > departure, leaving, or going away > [adjective]
parting1562
going1638
departing1751
off-going1861
the world > movement > motion in a certain direction > going away > [adjective]
parting1562
away-going1709
departing1751
way-going1778
off-going1861
going1883
1638 H. Adamson Muses Threnodie vi. 62 For going men, if they return perhaps, Strange change, in swine transformed are their shaps.
1734 A. Pope Satires of Horace ii. ii. 160 I,..Welcome the coming, speed the going guest.
1883 Athenæum 8 Dec. 744/1 Ladies on a pier, watching the going ship.
2005 M. Katulwende Bitterness iii. 21 The driver..sped off... He stood dejectedly, lost in the contemplation of the going car.
e. Chiefly Irish English. Of a judge: sitting at various places within a circuit; spec. applied to assize judges. Now historical.
ΚΠ
1657 in Archivum Hibernicum (1917) 6 185 It is thought fitt & ordered that it bee referred to the next going Justices of Assize for yt. province.
1680 T. Samson Narr. Late Popish Plot 21 I went to the said Assizes on the 10. of March last past; the then going Judges being Sir Richard Reynolls and Sir William Davis.
1716 Rep. Judges of Assize North-east Circuit of Ulster 9 We the last going Judges of Assize for the North-East Circuit of Ulster, crave leave to inform your Excellencies, that [etc.].
1766 E. Bullingbrooke Duty & Authority Justices of Peace Irel. 812 To appeal to..the next going justices of assize for the county where such ship or goods shall be saved.
1837 Dublin Univ. Mag. May 548/2 Agents more powerful than even the going judges were at work through the midland counties [of Ireland].
1880 Surrey Archæol. Coll. VII. 100 He afterwards went the Oxford circuit as one of the going judges of assize.
1923 Irish Times 12 Jan. 7/8 The mode of appointment [in 1921] was that the going judge of assizes selected the names of three of the county grand jurors as eligible for the office.
1960 V. T. H. Delany Christopher Palles xi. 101 The Chief Baron was the going judge of assize.
f. Scottish. Usually in form gaun. Vagrant; habitually moving about from place to place, esp. as a tramp or itinerant pedlar. Esp. in going body, going man. Cf. going-about adj. Now rare. Sc. National Dict. (at Gae) records gaun bodie as still in use in south-central Scotland in 1953.
ΘΚΠ
society > travel > aspects of travel > travel from place to place > [adjective] > with no fixed aim or wandering > as a vagabond or tramp
vagrant1461
loiteringa1533
way-walkinga1535
roguing1566
roguish1572
vagabondical1576
vagabond1585
vagabondinga1586
land-loping1587
vagrom1600
leap-land1614
vagabondial1615
vaguea1627
gangrel1650
vagabondious1661
going1737
gang-there-out1815
tramping1828
vagabondizing1830
pikey1838
beachcombing1845
runagate1877
going-about1886
bummy1890
1737 A. Ramsay Coll. Scots Prov. xii. 21 Give a gawn Man a Drink, and a quarrelsome Chiel a Cuff.
1868 Sharpe's London Mag. Jan. 201/1 We were aye gled to see a gaun body, ye ken; for they broucht word o' what was gaun on in the low country.
1875 Border Treasury 24 Apr. 443 Is he a decent-lookin man?.. He's nae gaun body, is he?
1904 J. F. Cannon Whithorn 59 One forenoon a ‘gaun man’ called at her house.
1982 Recorded Interview (Univ. Edinb.: School of Sc. Stud. Sound Archive) (SA1982.70) (MS transcript) The man that trained him used to live in the bothy... Gaun body.
2. Passing out of or away from existence, life, a particular state, etc.; fading, vanishing. In early use also: †transitory (obsolete).
ΚΠ
1340 Ayenbite (1866) 120 (MED) Alle þe oþre guodes..by chonginde and guoinde.
1717 B. Colman Funeral Serm. G. Hirst 14 It was eno' to make him willingly and gladly commit his going Spirit into the hands of God.
1800 G. Wallace Prospects Hills in Fife (ed. 2) x. 85 Fairies, Sprights, and Elves,..seen or heard at going light.
1887 Cent. Mag. Mar. 706/2 This is the same gray path we took Behind the slowly going day.
1921 Baltimore & Ohio Mag. Jan. 11/1 Here's wishing..That better than the going year will be the coming new.
1991 V. E. Villaseñor Rain of Gold 124 He saw something move ahead of him in the dim light of the going day.
3.
a. Esp. of a machine: working, running; functional, operative; proceeding vigorously. Also: (of a fire) well alight, vigorously burning.See also good-going adj. at good adj., n., adv., and int. Compounds 1a(d).
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > [adjective] > in operational condition
going1523
functional1892
operational1944
go1961
1523 J. Fitzherbert Bk. Surueyeng xx. f. 37 And the mylner shall make all the cost, bothe of the house and the goyng geyre.
1660 G. Mackenzie Aretina iv. 372 A melancholian may, like an ill-going clock, have the index of his humour put right by the hand of a friend, or of company.
1687 in W. M. Sargent York Deeds (Maine) (1889) V. f. 12 To the one third part of a Grist Mill..and to One third part of all the Going geares.
1727 J. Hutchinson Moses's Principia: Pt. II 422 The Word.., as already explain'd, says much more, it was, and is the going Machine called Nature.
1779 J. Smeaton Rep. (1812) II. 339 It is impracticable to rebuilt [sic] the beam wall in a going engine.
1842 Brit. Critic Oct. 306 He images our standard divinity as a kind of perpetually going pump, or torrent of anti-Romish epithets.
1890 C. L. Morgan Animal Life & Intell. ii. 21 Even at rest, the living animal is a going machine.
1901 Jrnl. Soc. Chem. Industry Aug. 793/2 A smokeless artificial fuel, which, after the apparent exhaustion of its combustible properties.., may be subsequently rekindled, or added to a going fire.
1914 Southwestern Reporter 165 790/1 To enable brakemen to leave a going engine, the motion of the train is slowed down to something like a fast walk.
1920 G. S. Whitby Plantation Rubber & Testing Rubber vii. 177 The most..effective measure..is rapid surface drying, either by rapid air-drying or by placing the sheet in a vigorously going smoke house.
1981 Sport Aviation Mar. 38/2 We fired up again without difficulty, and the motor appeared to be running happily... Now I had a going motor and a broken prop.
2003 G. E. Watson Refl. on Neches ii. i. 117 The fine fuel ignites immediately.., until there is enough heat for the large chunks to burn and there you have a going campfire.
b. Originally Scottish. Of a business, project, etc.: functioning, operating, productive. Later also: (esp. of a commercial proposition) viable, feasible.In earliest use applied to coal deposits which were being actively worked, and hence to coal mines, quarries, etc.See also going concern n. at Compounds.
ΚΠ
1681 J. Dalrymple Inst. Law Scotl. i. xiii. 284 If a Coal be a constant going Coal without apparent hazard of exhausting, it is like Conjunct-fiars, Tercers, or Donatars, will not be excluded therefrom.
1740 Caledonian Mercury 3 July There is likewise a going Coal in the Ground, to be set either with or without the House.
1747 Answers J. Gibson of Hillhead 1 The Respondent, being Proprietor of the Lands of Hillhead, has thereby Right to a going Coal-work thereon, which lies about a Mile below the City of Glasgow.
1775 London Chron. 8 June 548/1 (advt.) There are four workable lime-quarries upon the estate, which is within three miles of three going coal-works.
1814 Caledonian Mercury 11 Aug. (advt.) There is a going coal in the adjoining part of Elphinstone estate.
1858 C. Beavan Rep. Cases in Chancery XXIV. 320 This difficulty..could only arise in the case of a ‘going’ company.
1882 ‘J. Strathesk’ Blinkbonny 261 The place is like a gaun fair..I canna get on wi' my wark for folk comin'.
1887 Statist 2 July 12/1 Here is a going business, earning so much a year. It will pay you 10 per cent. dividends on so many thousand pounds of capital.
1937 Virginia Q. Rev. 13 591 In a department of English, as in any other going business, the proprietary interest becomes vested.
1955 C. Beals Our Yankee Heritage iii. 51 By patient reasoning, constant conferences, fair compromises..he worked out a going system.
1995 H. Hood Dead Men's Watches 109 I don't think the route was developed..but in 1933 it was a going proposition.
2006 Amer. Scientist 94 409/2 The people now working on these and several similar commercial ventures are clearly eager to make growing algae a going business in this country.
4.
a. Originally: †(of money) acceptable as legal tender, current (obsolete). Later more generally: that is generally accepted for commercial, financial, or similar purposes (as going price, going rate, etc.).
ΘΚΠ
society > trade and finance > money > medium of exchange or currency > [noun] > coins and notes > kind of money > current or legal
lawful1533
going1591
pass-gilt1657
real money1675
legal tender?1730
legal tender1740
1591 G. Fletcher Of Russe Common Wealth xiv. f. 51v One hundred rubbles of going money of Mosko.
1780 in Rec. Rhode Island (1864) IX. 269 A committee should be appointed in order to ascertain the respective balances..according to the value of the going currency.
1785 February, 1781 Rhode Island Gen. Assembly 12 To take such Surplus of Corn, allowing the Owner thereof the going Price for the same.
1827 Louisiana Advertiser 17 Feb. (advt.) These Freights are offered at present going rates only.
1833 Sporting Mag. June 75/2 The others [were] so little thought of..that 5, 6, and 10 to 1 was the going price in the market against them.
1865 F. Kirkland Cycl. Commerc. Anecd. II. x. 550/2 [He] bought two small lots of land, at the going rate, and sold them seven or eight years after, for twenty-five hundred dollars.
1892 J. Miller Workingman's Paradise 187 He said he'd never pay under the going wage to anybody and gave me sixpence.
1927 W. T. Foster & W. Catchings Business without Buyer v. 59 Presently, there are more goods on hand than the people can buy and pay for out of income, at the going price-level.
1971 Wisconsin State Jrnl. 29 May ii. 1/6 An investigation..showed that the going bribe [in the mid-19th century] for a state senator was $10,000.
2003 M. Belson On the Press ii. 94 Every saved minute was paid for at half the going hourly union rate for a proofreader.
b. That is in general circulation; prevailing; current; (in later use sometimes) currently favoured, fashionable.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > kind or sort > generality > [adjective] > general or prevalent
commona1325
generala1393
usual1396
popular?a1425
riveda1513
vulgarc1550
current1563
afloat1571
widespread1582
penny-rife1606
catholic1607
spacious1610
epidemical1614
epidemial1616
epidemic1617
prevailent1623
regnant1623
fashionablea1627
wide-spreading1655
endemical1658
prevalent1658
endemiala1682
obtaining1682
prevailing1682
endemious1684
sterling1696
running1697
(as) common as dirt (also muck)1737
prevailant1794
exoteric1814
endemic1852
widish1864
prolate1882
going1909
the mind > mental capacity > knowledge > knowledge, what is known > familiarity > [adjective] > generally known
commona1387
notorious1531
vulgar1548
current1563
going1909
1909 Daily Inter Lake (Kalispell, Montana) 27 Feb. 1/1 It is..an interesting contribution to the going talk of railroads.
1959 Life 16 Nov. 85/1 The ‘pathological’ cubists..came under fire for creating art that did not tally with the going opinion of what art should be.
1972 Observer 30 Apr. 32/2 She isn't keen on the going thing round there at the moment—a deep freeze.
1982 Jrnl. Higher Educ. 53 15 The extent to which the advisor has ‘bought into’ the ‘going’ perspective affects his ability to encourage students to develop new ideas.
1990 Times Lit. Suppl. 9 Mar. 265/4 The position of goldsmith or other specialist in ‘micro-architecture’—the going term for reliquaries and cognate forms.
2012 M. Grabell Money Well Spent ii. 18 At the time, the going theory was that the greatest challenges for the next president would be immigration reform and the war in Iraq.
Compounds
going concern n. a business that is in operation, esp. considered in regard to its capacity to continue in operation rather than simply as a collection of assets to be disposed of; a viable, successful, or flourishing enterprise; also in extended use.
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > business affairs > a business or company > [noun] > profitable
going concern1818
1818 Caledonian Mercury 27 Apr. (advt.) The Bottle Manufactory is a going concern which would be a great advantage to a purchaser, in the view of continuing the business.
1835 Sheffield Independent 27 June The Old Company's Works to be valued as a going concern, and a proportion of the shares..to be transferred to the subscribers.
1870 Sheffield & Rotherham Independent 19 July 5/6 Organized in this manner, a colony, from the time of the arrival of the emigrants at their location, would be a ‘going concern’.
1932 N. Hodgins Some Canad. Ess. 111 If a religion is a going concern, in the sense of helping a man to face life and death honestly, it has already proved its substantial truth.
1967 A. J. Toynbee Between Maule & Amazon 105 In the highlands the Maya people and their way of life are still a going concern.
1991 Independent 5 Jan. 15/3 He hoped that some profitable subsidiaries could be sold as going concerns, perhaps as management buyouts.
2012 D. Mack Storming Heaven xvi. 148 If this restaurant is a going concern, why do we appear to be its only patrons?
ΚΠ
1596 R. Johnson Famous Hist. Seauen Champions vii. 68 Hee had read..of a going fire called Ignis fatuis, the fire of destenie, or [by] some Will with the wispe.
1665 C. Cotton Scarronnides 80 I'le haunt thee like a going fire.
c1690 T. Tomkinson Truth's Triumph (1823) iii. iv. 134 Nature..may..beget vapours of bodies, moving on the earth, or in the air, as it doth, that we call going fires, tumbling up and down like a wisp upon the earth.
1839 W. Howitt Boy's Country-bk. x. 135 We were apt, as our neighbour..says, ‘to be obstropolous’, or as your grandmother used to say, often and often, ‘these children are like going-fires.’
Derivatives
ΘΚΠ
the world > movement > rate of motion > [adverb] > at a walking pace
goinglya1642
a1642 W. Bedell in T. Fuller Abel Redevivus (1651) 73 He can run but goingly, who ties himselfe to another mans footsteps.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2015; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
> see also
also refers to : -goingcomb. form
<
n.a1250
adj.c1275see also