movingn.
/ˈmuːvɪŋ/, U.S. /ˈmuvɪŋ/ 1. † b. spec. The real or apparent motion of a celestial object; an instance or type of this. Obsolete.† c. Power or faculty of motion. Obsolete.† d. Bodily movement; bearing, deportment. Also: a bodily movement, a gesture. Obsolete.† e. Chess. A move. Obsolete.† g. Fencing. Apparently: the action of dropping one's blade from the high to the low line of attack, perhaps involving some form of disengagement; an instance of this. Obsolete. rare.
a. A change of place, position, or state; motion, movement. Also: an act or the action of changing residence.
ΘΚΠ
the world > movement > [noun]
stirringc888
pacec1300
wawingc1305
bestirring1340
movinga1382
movementa1393
startlinga1398
flittinga1400
motionc1425
shiftingc1440
agitation1573
motiveness1611
go1635
moment1641
remover1653
move1818
a1382 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Bodl. 959) Num. iv.15 Whenne aaron & his sonys han inwrapped..al þe vessels..in þe meuynge of tentys.
a1398 J. Trevisa tr. Bartholomaeus Anglicus De Proprietatibus Rerum (BL Add.) f. 121 Þere beþ sixe maner meovingis..generacioun, corrupcioun, alteracioun, augmentacioun, diminucioun and chaunginge of place.
a1425 J. Wyclif Sel. Eng. Wks. (1871) II. 406 (MED) Þes foure wyndis..moun be foure mevyngis of þe eir, in which mennis bodies shulen be moved.
1426–7 in H. Littlehales Medieval Rec. London City Church (1905) 67 Payd for certeyne pavynge & mevynge of pewes in the cherche, vij s. ix d.
a1500 Ratis Raving 1775 The fyrst wertew of al moving, That sterys kind in al degre.
1570 H. Billingsley tr. Euclid Elements Geom. i. f. 1v A lyne is the mouyng of a poynte.
1573 R. Lever Arte of Reason 60 Mouyng is also taken for the begetting or corrupting of a substance: for the increasing or diminishing of a quantitie: or else for the altering of a qualitie.
1583 P. Barrough Methode of Phisicke i. xxix. 37 Tremor..is a disease which is accomplished with two sundry mouinges.
1656 T. Blount Glossographia at Ornomancy Divination by the moving of birds.
1726 G. Leoni tr. L. B. Alberti Architecture II. 12/2 These forces..are of great power for the moving of any weight.
1788 Dumfries Weekly Jrnl. 17 June The Town of Dumfries having resolved to erect Eight Pales at Carse-thorn, for moving of vessels there.
1822 Sat. Evening Post (Philadelphia) 11 May 2/5 We never recollect to have seen more moving and bustle than at the present time. New-York, on May day, looks something like a town besieged.
1850 Ld. Tennyson In Memoriam cxix. 186 Thou hear'st the village hammer clink, And see'st the moving of the team. View more context for this quotation
1915 W. S. Maugham Of Human Bondage xiv. 51 It was a very small thing beside the moving of mountains.
1973 Publishers Weekly 3 Sept. 50/2 Son of upwardly mobile parents, his youth has been a series of movings—from apartment to ever better apartment.
1992 M. Gilliatt Home Design 17 Correct measurement of doors and windows is particularly important as far as the moving of furniture is concerned.
1993 Big Issue 30 Apr. 10/3 Moving is always a pain in the arse but once I closed the front door I truly felt at home.
ΘΚΠ
the world > the universe > heavenly body > movement of heavenly bodies > [noun]
flighta1325
yerning1340
movinga1387
motec1392
lation1603
a1387 J. Trevisa tr. R. Higden Polychron. (St. John's Cambr.) (1869) II. 185 In þe more worlde beeþ tweie contrary meuynges [?a1475 anon. tr. movenges; L. motus]; oon is kyndeliche, by þe whiche þe planetes..moeueþ out of þe west in to þe est.
c1425 J. Lydgate Troyyes Bk. (Augustus A.iv) i. 1622 Sche knewe of þe firmament þe trewe cours, and of þe sterris alle, And by her mevyng what..schulde falle.
a1450 ( G. Chaucer Treat. Astrolabe Prol. 88 The fourthe partie shal ben a theorike to declare the moevyng of the celestiall bodies.
a1475 (?a1430) J. Lydgate tr. G. Deguileville Pilgrimage Life Man (Vitell.) 3102 (MED) The Sterres Sevene..That they shal, in her meuynges, Holden ther cours swyfft.
1594 R. Ashley tr. L. le Roy Interchangeable Course xi. f. 125v They which in times past beheld the heauens, found but few mouings, and could scarce perceiue ten.
1594 T. Blundeville Exercises iii. i. vii. f. 137v The ninth heauen is..without starres, hauing two moouinges, the one from East to West vpon the poles of the world.., and the other from West to East vpon his owne poles.
a1600 ( W. Stewart tr. H. Boece Bk. Cron. Scotl. (1858) I. 87 [He knew the sun's] proper muyn and his mot raptyne.
a1616 W. Shakespeare Henry VI, Pt. 1 (1623) i. ii. 1 Mars his true mouing . View more context for this quotation
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the world > movement > bodily movement > [noun] > power or faculty of
motiona1398
movinga1398
wieldinga1400
motricity1862
a1398 J. Trevisa tr. Bartholomaeus Anglicus De Proprietatibus Rerum (BL Add.) f. 208 A tre is y-bounde to þe erþe and haþ no moeuynge of it self.
?a1450 J. Arderne in 17th Internat. Congr. Med. (1914) xxiii. 111 (MED) A wommane that..loste the feelynge & movynge of bothe armys.
1499 W. Caxton tr. Eneydos iv. 29 Lyke a corps..wythoute partycypacion of sensityf moeuynge.
?1543 T. Phaer tr. J. Goeurot Regiment of Lyfe iv. f. xxix Swownyng is a takyng awaye of the felyng and mouyng of the bodye, by weakenesse of the herte.
1566 T. Blundeville Order curing Horses Dis. f. 11v, in Fower Offices Horsemanshippe Those cunduycts throughe which the spirghtes animall doe gyue feelyng, and mouyng to the bodye.
ΘΚΠ
the world > movement > bodily movement > [noun]
movinga1398
stirringa1400
motion?a1425
a1398 J. Trevisa tr. Bartholomaeus Anglicus De Proprietatibus Rerum (BL Add.) f. 298 Som [ape] is satirus, plesyng in face, wiþ mery moeuynges and pleyinges.
c1425 J. Lydgate Troyyes Bk. (Augustus A.iv) ii. 909 (MED) Lik as he..dide expresse Wordes of Ioye and of heuynes, Meving & cher..was alwey answering.
c1450 J. Metham Physiognomy in Wks. (1916) 140 (MED) Men may knowe the dysposycion off yche..creature..be ther gate and meuyng.
1531 T. Elyot Bk. named Gouernour i. xxi. sig. L The associatinge of man & woman in daunsing, they bothe obseruinge one nombre and tyme in their meuynges.
?1577 J. Northbrooke Spiritus est Vicarius Christi: Treat. Dicing 65 Those filthie and vnhonest gestures and mouings of Enterlude players.
1604 W. Shakespeare Hamlet ii. ii. 306 What peece of worke is a man..in forme and moouing, how expresse and admirable. View more context for this quotation
1607 G. Markham Cavelarice ii. 124 Letting them goe and come continuall with easie, soft, & vndisturbing mouings.
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society > leisure > entertainment > pastimes > game > board game > chess > [noun] > move
moving1474
marching1562
march1584
remove1645
removal1662
1474 W. Caxton tr. Game & Playe of Chesse (1883) iv. vii. 179 One yssue and one mouynge apperteyneth vnto alle the peple [i.e. pawns]. For they may goo fro the poynt they stande in at the first meuynge vnto the thirde poynt right forth to fore them [etc.].
a1525 Bk. Chess l. 2053 in W. A. Craigie Asloan MS (1923) I. 146 Ye king Mor sober Is in till his first moving.
f. moving of the waters n. [with allusion to John 5:3] a stir or excitement, a change or disturbance in the course of events.
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the world > movement > [noun] > specifically in contrast to rest or stillness
stirc1480
moving of the waters1642
a1425 (c1395) Bible (Wycliffite, L.V.) (Royal) (1850) John v. 2 A greet multitude of sike men..abidynge the mouyng of the watir.]
1642 D. Rogers Naaman 358 They must attend the moving of the waters.
1833 New-England Mag. Nov. 379 It is the part of woman..to wait silently for the moving of the waters of affection, not to trouble them herself.
1900 J. A. H. Murray Evol. Eng. Lexicogr. 27 But by the end of the sixteenth century, as by the end of the nineteenth, there was a moving of the waters.
ΚΠ
1747 J. Godfrey Treat. Useful Sci. Def. 31 The going down to the Leg..is done after receiving or moving... Receiving is the stopping our Adversary's Blow first, and then going to his Leg: Moving is going down without receiving, but taking care before you go down, to move his Sword out of the Line.
1747 J. Godfrey Treat. Useful Sci. Def. 32 It is a difficult Matter for him to..guard against your little or no notice-giving Movings and going down.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > will > motivation > [noun] > incitement or instigation
puttingOE
sleatinga1122
eggingc1200
pricking?c1225
enticement1303
movinga1382
eggmentc1386
stirring1399
instinct1412
instigationc1422
motiona1425
provocationa1425
coyingc1440
ertingc1440
tollingc1440
artation1441
incitation1477
instinction1490
inhortationc1503
stimulation1526
abetment1533
onsetting1541
provokement?1545
incitament1579
stirring?c1580
irritation1589
incitement1594
spurring1611
to give foment to1613
fomenting1615
prompturea1616
proritation1615
urgea1618
exstimulation1626
fomentation1633
instinctment1661
spurning1672
impulsing1885
the mind > will > motivation > [noun] > incitement or instigation > inward
movinga1382
motivec1485
impulse1702
push1860
a1382 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Bodl. 959) 2 Paralip. xvi. 14 Þei puttyn hym vp on his bed ful of swoote spices..& þei brendyn vp on hym in a ful myche moeuyng to lust.
a1382 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Bodl. 959) 2 Paralip. xxxii. 15 Þanne ȝow desceyue not ezechie, ne bi veyn moeuyng begile, ne trowe ȝee to hym.
c1390 G. Chaucer Melibeus 2429 Youre conseil..sholde nat..be called a conseillyng, but a mocioun or a moeuyng of folie.
c1450 (c1400) Bk. Vices & Virtues (Huntington) (1942) 287 (MED) Take good hede to þiself þat þe meuenges of þin herte ne of þi body be not foule.
a1475 in A. Clark Eng. Reg. Godstow Nunnery (1906) ii. 630 (MED) No man, bi þe deuillis meuinge, sholde be a-bowte for to lette þis gifte.
?1504 W. Atkinson tr. Thomas à Kempis Ful Treat. Imytacyon Cryste (Pynson) iii. lix. 249 Se thou gyue hede dylygentlye vnto the mouynges of nature & grace.
1631 S. Jerome Arraignem. Whole Creature xii. §4. 131 The strong movings of his hart, and the earnings of his affections.
1648 T. Hill God's Preparations Ep. Ded. sig. Biijv Far bee it from mee to snib the movings of God's Spirit in the weakest..of his saints.
a1716 R. South Serm. Several Occasions (1744) XI. 190 He also suffers by the movings and yearnings of his own compassion.
a. A disturbance, stirring, commotion. Obsolete.
ΚΠ
c1384 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Douce 369(2)) Mark xiii. 8 Folk schal rise vpon folk, and rewme vpon rewme, and erthe mouyng [a1425 L.V. erthe mouyngis; L. terræmotus] schal be by places.
a1425 (c1384) Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Corpus Oxf.) (1850) Ezek. iii. 12 Y herde..a nois of greet mouynge togider [L. vocem commotionis magnæ], the blessid glorie of the Lord fro his place..the vois of weengis of beestis..and the vois of wheelis.
c1450 Alphabet of Tales (1905) II. 333 (MED) He went oute of þe maydyn & come in-to a plite of þe gown and made þer a grete movyng.
b. A dispute. Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > order > disorder > confusion or disorder > commotion, disturbance, or disorder > [noun] > instance of
viretotec1386
moving?a1439
reela1450
stir1487
songa1500
pirrie1536
hurly-burly1548
make-a-do1575
confusions1599
the hunt is upa1625
ruffle1642
fuss1701
fraction1721
fizza1734
dust1753
noration1773
steeriea1776
splorea1791
rook1808
piece of work1810
curfuffle1813
squall1813
rookerya1820
stushie1824
shindy1829
shine1832
hurroosh1836
fustle1839
upsetting1847
shinty1848
ructions1862
vex1862
houp-la1870
set-out1875
hoodoo1876
tingle-tangle1880
shemozzle1885
take-on1893
dust-up1897
hoo-ha1931
tra-la-la1933
gefuffle1943
tzimmes1945
kerfuffle1946
a1439 J. Lydgate Fall of Princes (Bodl. 263) v. 256 (MED) On the day of that gret mariage, Ther fill a stryff & a gret meuyng Among the comouns.
a1475 in A. Clark Eng. Reg. Godstow Nunnery (1905) i. 367 (MED) That ther shold come therof, by the occasion of such maner of discencion, not all-only dyuerse mevyngis, but also..harmes and expensis.
ΚΠ
?a1425 (c1380) G. Chaucer tr. Boethius De Consol. Philos. iii. pr. xi. 154 Wherfore ellis bereth lightnesse the flaumbes up and the weyghte presseth the erthe adoun, but for as moche as..thilke moevynges ben covenable to everych of hem?
?a1425 (c1380) G. Chaucer tr. Boethius De Consol. Philos. v. pr. i. 37 Hap is a bytydynge ibrought forth by foolissh moevynge and by no knyttynge of causes.
c1429 Mirour Mans Saluacioune (1986) l. 4287 (MED) Godde..oure thoght, worde or dede knawes alle..Oure wille and oure movinges knawes he wele evry whitte.
c1475 (c1445) R. Pecock Donet (1921) 14 (MED) Forto reule..his doyngis and suffringis and movingis in gouernaunce of doable þingis, aftir þe doom of resoun.
a1500 ( J. Yonge tr. Secreta Secret. (Rawl.) (1898) 179 (MED) To the hardy hit appartenyth to be slow of mewynge, but whan he shal battail in honde take, he is..ferce.
Compounds
C1.
moving business n.
ΚΠ
1973 Times 23 Oct. (Pickfords Suppl.) 1 Three hundred years experience in the moving business has helped keep Pickfords the biggest name in household removals.
1983 New Scientist (BNC) 10 Mar. I am ashamed to admit to some bafflement on hearing Dr Sylvia Earle..extolling the virtues of a moving and storage firm... How has her work in algal taxono..prepared her as an expert on the moving business?
C2. † moving-bell n. Obsolete rare a bell rung when a corpse was moved from one parish to another.
ΚΠ
?c1760 J. Nollekens in J. T. Smith Life (1828) I. 54 The Moving-bell..goes when they move a body out of one parish to the next.
moving man n. chiefly North American = mover n.1 6.
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > worker > workers according to type of work > manual or industrial worker > other manual or industrial workers > [noun] > who move furniture
house mover1834
remover1861
mover1894
furniture-remover1895
removalist1904
moving man1922
1922 H. L. Foster Adventures Trop. Tramp xii. 179 While he shipped the furniture from the old place, I was to go down to the new one to see that the moving-men stole none of it en route.
1973 National Observer (U.S.) 3 Feb. 7/1 When our moving men finally showed up (‘removals’ in their business, whether you are coming or going, and on moving day we hardly knew which we were) we received another language lesson.
1990 Independent on Sunday 18 Feb. 21/7 No sooner had they paid the surveyor and replaced items broken by the moving men than they were hit by the Chancellor's plan to cool down the economy.
moving van n. a vehicle used for removals.
ΘΚΠ
society > travel > means of travel > a conveyance > vehicle > powered vehicle > motor lorry, truck, or van > [noun] > van > types of
box van1843
vanette1867
moving van1885
chip van1893
tranship-van1903
bakkie1957
minivan1959
kombi1963
Kombi van1972
1885 N.Y.'s Great Industries (Edwards & Critten) (new ed.) 303/1 Moving vans of the most modern build and largest capacity, with ample and careful storage-room for all classes of furniture and merchandise.
1925 T. Dreiser Amer. Trag. II. iii. xxvii. 334 A venal moving-van company had revealed her address.
1986 D. Koontz Strangers ii. iv. 243 The moving van arrived with her household goods, which she had shipped from Palo Alto, California.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, March 2003; most recently modified version published online June 2022).
movingadj.
/ˈmuːvɪŋ/, U.S. /ˈmuvɪŋ/ 1.
a. That moves or passes from one place, position, or posture to another; capable of moving, able to be moved; not fixed or stationary, in motion.
ΘΚΠ
the world > movement > [adjective] > moving
stirringc950
movablea1382
swayingc1400
moving?a1425
shifting1479
mobile1490
unquiet1539
movent1644
impacifica1657
traversing1785
unstationary1832
unsettled1845
shifty1884
?a1425 (c1400) Mandeville's Trav. (Titus C.xvi) (1919) 187 Dredfull eyen þat ben eueremore mevynge & sparklynge as fuyre.
a1500 (c1425) Andrew of Wyntoun Oryg. Cron. Scotl. (Nero) i. l. 967 Þe watyr of Nyle our fletis it all Withe mowynge spryngis wiþ outtyn spate.
a1500 (c1425) Andrew of Wyntoun Oryg. Cron. Scotl. (Nero) v. l. 3444 Þe [image] of our Lady..tuk hir rayk wiþe mowande passe But in þe kyrk.
a1522 G. Douglas tr. Virgil Æneid (1960) xii. vi. 145 With sik fors..furth dryvys he Hys bissy movand tymbrell.
1598 S. Brandon Tragicomoedi of Vertuous Octauia i. iii. sig. Biiv Madame, when Aeolus had once convai'd Our moouing houses, vnto that same place, There..we encountr'd were.
a1616 W. Shakespeare Macbeth (1623) v. v. 36 Within this three Mile may you see it comming, I say, a mouing Groue. View more context for this quotation
1683 J. Moxon Mech. Exercises II. 89 Extend the moving Foot of your Compasses where it will fall in the Circle, and make there a Mark.
1739 D. Hume Treat. Human Nature I. iv. 397 Now what is our idea of the moving body, without which motion is incomprehensible?
1798 S. T. Coleridge Anc. Marinere iv, in W. Wordsworth & S. T. Coleridge Lyrical Ballads 23 The moving Moon went up the sky And no where did abide.
1859 E. FitzGerald tr. Rubáiyát Omar Khayyám li. 11 The Moving Finger writes; and, having writ, Moves on.
1882 G. M. Minchin Uniplanar Kinematics 32 Path of a moving point relatively to a moving plane.
1922 ‘R. Crompton’ Just—William i. 14 They were pursued by police, they leapt on to a moving train.
1999 C. Hulme Manslaughter United xi. 95 Nigel staged a passing shuttle involving hitting a moving ball.
b. figurative. That progresses or moves forward. rare.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > continuing > progress, advance, or further continuance > [adjective]
progressing1795
marching1856
moving1903
1903 J. Morley Life Gladstone II. v. i. 4 Austria, in turn, was far too slow for a moving age.
2.
a. Causing or producing motion.
ΘΚΠ
the world > movement > [adjective] > initiating or causing movement
motivea1400
moving?a1425
agitative1528
motionary1612
motory1799
motor1849
?a1425 tr. Guy de Chauliac Grande Chirurgie (Hunterian) f. 44v Nerues þat ben sensibel & motiue, þat is to seien felinge & meuinge.
?c1425 tr. Guy de Chauliac Grande Chirurgie (Paris) (1971) 42 Of þe whiche spryngen..þe movynge [?a1425 N.Y. Acad. Med. motiuez; L. motiui] synowes.
c1454 R. Pecock Folewer to Donet 35 Þe movyng power bi which men and parfite notable beestis moven hem silf from place to place.
1590 W. Clever Flower of Phisicke 111 A whole and perfett substance of moouing power.
1659 J. Leak tr. I. de Caus New Inventions Water-works 8 The more the moving force is distant from the center of motion, so much the more force it shall have.
1729 G. Shelvocke, Jr. tr. K. Siemienowicz Great Art Artillery iv. 266 These round boards—prevent the Excursion of the least Atom of the Moving Power..till the Projectile is departed.
1794 G. Adams Lect. Nat. & Exper. Philos. III. xxxi. 382 Effects..by no means obtainable by the moving force immediately applied.
1838 J. Keble Serm. (1848) ix. 245 Which, had she been free and erect she might have achieved by her own moving force applied to her own machinery.
1891 T. Hardy Tess of the D'Urbervilles I. xviii. 238 At the farther end the great churn could be seen revolving,..the moving power being discernible..in the form of a spiritless horse walking in a circle.
1902 Jrnl. Physical Therapeutics 3 125 A term which would comprehend in its meaning the moving power of the current in whatever direction upon particles suspended in it or held in solution by it.
1993 Dict. National Biogr.: Missing Persons 714/1 He published..on a wide variety of subjects, including..atomic weights, the spectrum of thallium, the moving force of celestial bodies, [etc.].
b. Causing or producing an action or effect.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > will > motivation > [adjective] > inciting or instigating
stirring1421
movingc1443
provokingc1443
incitative1490
urgent1559
propulsory1585
pricking1592
pulsive1602
incentive1603
incitatory1610
urging1612
animalizing1617
impellent1620
irritant1636
instigative1644
propulsive1648
promptive1653
parastatic1656
exstimulatory1657
impulsory1659
appelling1666
irritative1686
instigating1702
spurring1702
stimulatinga1732
stimulatory1758
impulsive1788
stimulant1803
stimulative1836
exertivea1856
inciting1855
incitant1886
incitive1888
on-driving1927
incitory1941
c1443 R. Pecock Reule of Crysten Religioun (1927) 174 (MED) Þat grace movyng be ȝeue to me, forto stire me into þilke werkis whiche y ouȝte to do.
1490 Caxton's Blanchardyn & Eglantine (1962) xx. 65 Concedere you not that ye be occasion, and the cause mouyng of thassemble of the ostis that are for your towne, and of the shedyng of bloode that procedeth therof.
a1500 Ratis Raving 82 Trow weil, It aw rycht sua to be Fore causs mowand, fore quhat is hee For-out trespas that here can leif?
1569 E. Fenton tr. P. Boaistuau Certaine Secrete Wonders Nature sig. Aii He was so carefully garded by diuels, that no mortal man durst assaile eyther him or his treasure amassed from so many partes of the world, the same mouing cause of feare to Princes of the greatest power.
1606 T. Palmer Ess. Meanes to make Trauailes more Profitable i. 1 What ought to be the moouing causes of mens trauell.
1682 Modest Enq. Election Sheriffs London 38 Nor may it be amiss briefly here to unfold both the first occasion of, and the moving Reason unto it.
1720 D. Defoe Mem. Cavalier 182 The great moving Men began to go out of Town.
1782 J. H. St. J. de Crèvecoeur Lett. from Amer. Farmer xii. 277 The great moving principles which actuate both parties are much hid from vulgar eyes.
1833 J. H. Newman Arians 4th Cent. v. 378 The error..of mistaking whatever shows itself on the surface of the Apostolic Community..for the real moving principle and life of the system.
1878 Spirit of Times 19 Jan. 669/2 Mr. B. G. Bruce..has been the moving spirit in the organization of these stakes.
1902 R. Lovett James Chalmers ii. 46 He was a moving spirit in fun and mischief.
1973 N.Y. Law Jrnl. 31 Aug. 3/2 If it shall appear that any party other than the moving party is entitled to summary judgment, the court may grant such judgment without the necessity of a cross-motion.
1993 Up Here (Yellowknife, N.W. Territories) Feb. 43 Alma Houston became a moving force behind the founding of the co-operative at Cape Dorset.
ΘΚΠ
the world > time > change > changeableness > [adjective]
slidinga900
wankleeOE
windyc1000
unsteadfastc1200
fleeting?c1225
loose?c1225
brotelc1315
unstablec1340
varyingc1340
variantc1374
motleyc1380
ungroundedc1380
muablea1393
passiblea1393
remuablea1393
changeablea1398
movablea1398
variablec1397
slidderya1400
ticklec1400
variantc1412
flitting1413
mutable?a1425
movingc1425
flaskisable1430
flickering1430
transmutablec1430
vertible1447
brittlea1450
ficklea1450
permutablec1450
unfirmc1450
uncertain1477
turnable1483
unsteadfast1483
vagrantc1522
inconstant1526
alterable?1531
stirringc1540
slippery1548
various1552
slid?1553
mutala1561
rolling1561
weathery1563
unconstant1568
interchangeable1574
fluctuant1575
stayless1575
transitive1575
voluble1575
changeling1577
queasy1579
desultory1581
huff-puff1582
unstaid1586
vagrant1586
changeful1590
floating1594
Protean1594
unstayed1594
swimming1596
anchorless1597
mobilec1600
ticklish1601
catching1603
labile1603
unrooted1604
quicksilvered1605
versatile1605
insubstantial1607
uncertain1609
brandling1611
rootless1611
squeasy1611
wind-changinga1616
insolid1618
ambulatory1625
versatilous1629
plastic1633
desultorious1637
unbottomed1641
fluid1642
fluent1648
yea-and-nay1648
versipellous1650
flexile1651
uncentred1652
variating1653
chequered1656
slideable1662
transchangeative1662
weathercock-like1663
flicketing1674
fluxa1677
lapsable1678
wanton1681
veering1684
upon the weathercock1702
contingent1703
unsettled?1726
fermentable1731
afloat1757
brickle1768
wavy1795
vagarious1798
unsettled1803
fitful1810
metamorphosical1811
undulating1815
tittupya1817
titubant1817
mutative1818
papier mâché1818
teetotum1819
vacillating1822
capricious1823
sensitive1828
quicksilvery1829
unengrafted1829
fluxionala1834
proteiform1833
liquid1835
tottlish1835
kaleidoscopic1846
versative1846
kaleidoscopical1858
tottery1861
choppy1865
variative1874
variational1879
wimbly-wambly1881
fluctuable1882
shifty1882
giveable1884
shifty1884
tippy1886
mutatory1890
upsettable1890
rocky1897
undulatory1897
streaky1898
tottly1905
tipply1906
up and down1907
inertialess1927
sometimey1946
rise-and-fall1950
switchable1961
c1425 J. Lydgate Troyyes Bk. (Augustus A.iv) i. 1856 (MED) Her hertes ben so freel and vnstable..so mevynge and mutable.
1575 J. Rolland Treat. Court Venus Prol. sig. Aiij For he that hes of the Air the nature, Is oft muifand, licht, merie, with plesure.
1599 W. Shakespeare et al. Passionate Pilgrime (new ed.) sig. C The morning rise Doth scite each mouing scence from idle rest.
1714 A. Pope Rape of Lock (new ed.) i. 7 The moving Toyshop of their Heart.
4. Producing strong emotion, esp. sadness or sympathy; touching, affecting.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > emotion > aspects of emotion > quality of affecting the emotions > [adjective]
ruefulc1225
pathetical1563
touchinga1586
imprintingc1592
moving1594
pathetic1598
neara1616
affectivea1639
affectuous1664
tenderingc1694
affecting1703
tender1705
emotive1847
1594 L. Lewkenor tr. O. de la Marche Resolued Gentleman sig. Bi Most effectual and moouing examples of great pietie.
1599 T. Nashe Lenten Stuffe 5 The delectablest lustie sight and mouingest obiect, me thought it was that our Ile sets forth.
a1616 W. Shakespeare Two Gentlemen of Verona (1623) v. iv. 55 If the gentle spirit of mouing words Can no way change you to a milder forme; Ile wooe you like a Souldier. View more context for this quotation
1658 H. Slingsby Diary (1836) 220 Sure I am that the dying words of an affectionate Father cannot but fasten deeper, and retain a Memory longer then the speech of the movingst Orator.
1726 J. Swift Gulliver I. ii. viii. 149 I..begged, by all that was moving, to be delivered out of the Dungeon I was in.
1749 H. Fielding Tom Jones II. vi. v. 259 She sunk down in her Chair..and, in all the moving Silence of unutterable Grief, presented a Spectacle which must have affected almost the hardest Heart. View more context for this quotation
1837 J. W. Carlyle Lett. (1883) I. 67 Mrs. Marsh, the moving authoress of the ‘Old Man's Tales’.
1875 B. Jowett tr. Plato Dialogues (ed. 2) I. 367 How he produced his children in court, which was a moving spectacle.
1941 J. Agate Diary 18 Jan. in Selective Ego (1976) 138 He was very fine, and in the death scene immensely moving.
1991 She May 204/2 My friends have been making moving little speeches about how they'll be thinking of me.
5. Exciting great interest. Now rare.
ΚΠ
1862 Ladies' Repository Jan. 52/1 What shall we eat and what shall we drink..?—are the great moving questions of those who are under the sway of this principle [sc. pleasure].
1907 Outlook 23 Mar. 390/1 His subject..is one of the moving questions of our time.
Compounds
moving average n. an average derived from a series of values in which the interval contributing to it is of constant size but is moved progressively along the series (usually one value at a time) to give a succession of averages; such a succession.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > relationship > equality or equivalence > condition of being mean or average > [noun] > average > types of
weighted averagea1832
moving average1909
running average1929
running mean1929
1909 Jrnl. Royal Statist. Soc. 72 726 Mr. Hooker..suggested..correlating the deviations of the two variables from the instantaneous average of each... I applied Mr. Hooker's moving-average method to similar data.
1969 J. Argenti Managem. Techniques 174 If demand for a product over the past four weeks has been for 20, 23, 19, 19 units respectively, the average demand has been for 20 units. Now suppose another week passes in which the demand is 22 units, the new moving average is 20·5. This is calculated by dropping the earliest figure (20), adding the latest (22) and averaging again.
1991 Investors Chron. 16 Aug. 20/2 To be convincing, the market must get above its 200-day moving average.
moving-coil adj. designating an electrical instrument or apparatus in which a coil of wire is situated in a magnetic field, so that either the coil moves when a current flows through it or else movement of the coil generates a current.
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > physics > electromagnetic radiation > electricity > electrically induced magnetism > electromagnetic induction > [adjective] > involving movement
uni-pivot1778
moving-coil1887
moving-iron1908
the world > matter > physics > electromagnetic radiation > electronics > electronic devices or components > [noun] > inductance coil > moving coil
moving-coil1887
moving-conductor1933
1887 Proc. Royal Soc. 42 189 If it were not for the resistance and torsion of the stretched wires, the moving coil galvanometer of Deprez..would have many advantages.
1933 L. E. C. Hughes Elem. Engin. Acoustics v. 77 The three forms of diaphragm action are incorporated respectively in the condenser (Wente) microphone, the moving-coil (Sykes) microphone, and the ribbon (Olson) microphone.
1988 V. Capel Audio & Hi-Fi Engineer's Pocket Bk. 46 A low value load though can dampen peaks in moving coil units if the output is sufficient to offset the loss.
moving-conductor adj. designating an electrical instrument or apparatus in which a conductor is situated in a magnetic field, so that either the conductor moves when a current flows through it or else movement of the conductor generates a current.
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > physics > electromagnetic radiation > electronics > electronic devices or components > [noun] > inductance coil > moving coil
moving-coil1887
moving-conductor1933
1933 K. Henney Radio Engin. Handbk. xvi. 421 These have practically been superseded by the moving conductor drive (principally electrodynamic) and the larger portion of all loud-speakers in use today are of this type.
1966 McGraw-Hill Encycl. Sci. & Technol. (rev. ed.) VIII. 360/2 A moving conductor microphone consists of a straight-line conductor located in a magnetic field and coupled to a V-shaped diaphragm acted upon by sound waves.
1997 N. Sclater & J. Markus McGraw-Hill Electronics Dict. (ed. 6) 139/2 Dynamic microphone, a moving-conductor microphone whose flexible diaphragm is attached to a coil positioned in the fixed magnetic field of a permanent magnet.
moving handrail n. a handrail for an escalator or moving walkway, consisting of a circulating belt which moves at the same rate as the surface on which passengers stand.
ΚΠ
1893 World 24 Feb. 8/1 Mr Reno has devised a continuous elevator, consisting of an endless inclined platform which moves at a uniform speed... In addition to the platform there is a moving hand-rail which serves to steady the passenger in his ascent.
1952 Sci. News Let. 9 Aug. 84/2 Like the escalator, it [sc. ‘the moving sidewalk’] has a moving handrail to be grasped by the passenger.
2004 W. Kowalski Good Neighbour (2006) xxxv. 417 They went up the escalator to the second floor, with Nova latched firmly on to the moving handrail and peering over the side at the shoppers below.
moving image n. an image which has, or is created to give the impression of, movement; (in 20th cent.) spec. = moving picture n. 2; (also, esp. with the) the art form or industry of cinema, television, and video.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > the arts > performance arts > optical shows > [noun] > other optical shows
moving picture1709
panorama1791
moving image1819
diorama1823
phantasmagoria1830
slide show1956
1819 W. Wordsworth Waggoner Concl. 36 While Grasmere smoothed her liquid plain The moving image to detain.
1906 J. London White Fang iv. i. 193 When his eyes conveyed to his brain the moving image of an action, his brain without conscious effort, knew the space that limited that action and the time required for its completion.
1978 Washington Post (Nexis) 20 Jan. d1 I can't recall when I first saw Hepburn's moving image.
1980 N.Y. Times (Nexis) 10 June c1 The tremendous expansion of the number of cinematographers who are women is reflected in a first: ‘The Moving image: Film and Video Festival,’ at the Women's Interart Center.
1987 S. Brand Media Lab i. viii. 146 An array of forty simultaneous moving images, some coming and going, with all the sound tracks making a cocktail-party low roar.
2000 Daily Record (Glasgow) (Electronic ed.) 25 July The ASA warns that special care should be taken in cinema advertisements and those in electronic media where the moving image may give the impression of excessive speed.
moving-iron adj. designating an electrical instrument or apparatus in which the passage of a current through a fixed coil of wire causes the movement of a piece of iron within the coil.
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > physics > electromagnetic radiation > electricity > electrically induced magnetism > electromagnetic induction > [adjective] > involving movement
uni-pivot1778
moving-coil1887
moving-iron1908
1908 K. Edgcumbe Industr. Electr. Measuring Instruments 27 One of the simplest windings to calculate is that of an ammeter coil such as would be used for a moving-iron instrument.
1940 A. Wood Acoustics xviii. 529 The large diaphragm required in lieu of a horn may also be driven by an arrangement of the ‘moving iron’ type.
1992 RS Components: Electronic & Electr. Products July 626/2 This..transformer may be used with moving-iron meter 259-511.
moving-magnet adj. designating an electrical instrument or apparatus in which a permanent magnet is situated within a fixed coil, so that either the magnet moves when a current flows through the coil or else movement of the magnet generates a current.
ΚΠ
1908 Science 3 Jan. 3/2 The important principle of this galvanometer was..the reduction of the moving magnet to a very small affair.]
1926 Proc. Royal Soc. A. 107 427 The galvanometer used was of the moving magnet type.
1940 Chambers's Techn. Dict. 561/1 Moving-magnet galvanometer, a galvanometer depending for its action on the movement of a small permanent magnet in the magnetic field produced by the current to be measured.
1991 What Hi-Fi? Oct. 213/1 Moving magnet cartridge. The opposite of moving coil, in that a magnet on the end of the cantilever which carries the stylus moves relative to fixed coils, thus turning movement into electricity.
moving part n. each of the working components in a mechanism; usually in plural.
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > equipment > machine > parts of machines > mechanism > [noun] > part of
gear1523
movement1678
moving part1825
1825 ‘J. Nicholson’ Operative Mechanic 20 The disengaging and reengaging of the moving parts.
1926 Brit. Standard Gloss. Terms Electr. Engin. (Brit. Engin. Standards Assoc.) 50 Dash-pot, an appliance for preventing the sudden or oscillatory motion of any moving part of a piece of apparatus, by the friction of air or of a liquid.
1998 Textile Horizons June 10/1 The lower number of moving parts..means that there is lower maintenance and less spare parts required.
moving pavement n. a footway resembling a conveyor belt for pedestrians; cf. travelator n.
ΘΚΠ
society > travel > means of travel > a conveyance > other means of conveyance > [noun] > moving pavement
moving sidewalk1871
moving platform1892
moving walkway1899
slidewalk1948
Speed-walk1955
travelator1955
moving pavement1960
1960 Times Rev. Industry Apr. 28/1 Passenger-carrying conveyor belt..known as moving pavements.
1971 Guardian 22 June 6/6 Passenger conveyor systems, popularly known as moving pavements, could become a major form of city transport.
1991 Constr. News 26 Sept. 9/5 A moving pavement is included to connect the Central Link to New Street and Moor Street railway stations.
ΘΚΠ
the world > plants > particular plants > plants and herbs > non-British plants or herbs > [noun] > Asian or Indian
moving plant1787
elephant's foot1789
Indian lettuce1791
Sonerila1846
telegraph plant1856
whirling plant1866
mitsuba1890
1787 E. Darwin et al. tr. C. Linnaeus et al. Families of Plants I. p. xix The Moving plant (Hedysarum movens).
1866 J. Lindley & T. Moore Treasury Bot. I. 395/1 The most interesting..plant in the genus [sc. Desmodium] is D. gyrans, the Moving plant, a native of India... The singular rotatory motion of the leaflets of this plant renders it an object of great interest.
moving platform n. = moving pavement n.
ΘΚΠ
society > travel > means of travel > a conveyance > other means of conveyance > [noun] > moving pavement
moving sidewalk1871
moving platform1892
moving walkway1899
slidewalk1948
Speed-walk1955
travelator1955
moving pavement1960
1892 Scribner's Mag. June 748/1 Imagine a continuous line of platforms on wheels moved by electric motors at the rate of three miles an hour, at which speed persons can step on a moving platform from a station.
1955 Sci. News Let. 8 Oct. 232/3 Designers foresee use of the moving platform, called ‘Trav-o-lator’, for such congested areas as airports, subway stations, [etc.].
1968 V. Nabokov King, Queen, Knave i. 1 People, people, people on the moving platform, themselves moving their feet, yet standing still, striding forward, yet retreating as in an agonizing dream full of incredible effort, nausea, a cottony weakness in one's calves, will surge back, almost falling supine.
moving sidewalk n. chiefly North American = moving pavement n.
ΘΚΠ
society > travel > means of travel > a conveyance > other means of conveyance > [noun] > moving pavement
moving sidewalk1871
moving platform1892
moving walkway1899
slidewalk1948
Speed-walk1955
travelator1955
moving pavement1960
1871 World (N.Y.) 9 Dec. 2/2 A plan, already patented, for a moving sidewalk, which shall be in perpetual motion, carrying pedestrians at the rate of ten miles an hour.
1895 Electr. World 17 Aug. 193/1 A sort of electric railway from the base to the top of Montmartre..to be quite similar to the moving sidewalk which was exhibited at the World's Fair.
1955 Sci. News Let. 8 Oct. 232/3 A moving sidewalk with cleated escalator treads had been developed by the Otis Elevator Company... Designers foresee use of the moving platform, called ‘Trav-o-lator’, for such congested areas as airports, subway stations, [etc.].
1994 C. Pursell White Heat iii. 89 The ‘people mover’ or moving sidewalk..was first used at Chicago's Columbia Exposition in 1893, then appeared in Harrod's department store in 1898, and finally made it to the London Underground..in 1960.
moving spirit n. the spirit or principle which animates or impels something; frequently figurative, of a person (cf. spirit n. 20).
ΘΚΠ
the mind > will > motivation > [noun] > incitement or instigation > that which incites or instigates
prickleOE
pritchOE
alighting1340
brodc1375
bellowsc1386
pricka1387
motivec1390
prompting1402
preparativec1450
stirmentc1460
incentive?a1475
fomenta1500
farda1522
instigation1526
pointing1533
swinge1548
spur1551
whetstone1551
goad1567
promptitude1578
alarm1587
inducement1593
solicitor1594
incitement1596
inflammation1597
instance1597
excitement1604
moving spirit1604
heart-blood1606
inflamer1609
rouser1611
stimulator1614
motioner1616
incensivea1618
incitative1620
incitation1622
whettera1625
impulsivea1628
excitation1628
incendiary1628
dispositive1629
fomentationa1631
switch1630
stirrer1632
irritament1634
provocative1638
impetus1641
driving force1642
driving power1642
engagement1642
firer1653
propellant1654
fomentary1657
impulse1660
urgency1664
impeller1686
fillip1699
shove1724
incitive1736
stimulative1747
bonus1787
stimulus1791
impellent1793
stimulant1794
propulsion1800
instigant1833
propulsive1834
motive power1836
evoker1845
motivity1857
afflatus1865
flip1881
urge1882
agent provocateur1888
will to power1896
a shot in the arm1922
motivator1929
driver1971
co-driver1993
1604 S. Harward Disc. Soule & Spirit of Man iii. f. 16 The mouing spirit which moueth all, and ruleth all, and quickeneth all, is that one soule of man, of which Chrysostome speaketh.
1789 Moral & Philos. Estimates State & Faculties of Man II. xiii. 65 Let her [sc. virtue] be..the moving spirit of thy whole behaviour!
1835 Globe (Washington, D.C.) 2 May The moving spirit of the Holy Alliance, Prince Metternich.
1954 N. Mitford Madame de Pompadour xix. 242 The state papers still passed through her hands and the work was done in her room, but she ceased to be the moving spirit.
2006 Daily Herald (Arlington Heights, Illinois) 16 Jan. d3/4 The moving spirit behind the society's formation was Charles Love—the ‘recognized local historic authority in town’.
moving stair n. (also moving stairs) = moving staircase n.
ΘΚΠ
society > travel > means of travel > a conveyance > other means of conveyance > [noun] > escalator
moving staircase1897
moving stairway1897
escalator1900
moving stair1901
1901 Boston Daily Globe 10 Feb. 48/2 Watching the moving stairs and waiting for persons who..have the temerity to attempt to ascend by them.
1922 Granta 10 Nov. 93/2 I dreamt I saw a Proctor ‘escalating’, Rushing up a quickly moving stair.
1940 L. MacNeice Last Ditch 12 And two people with the one pulse (Somebody stopped the moving stairs): Time was away and somewhere else.
1992 ‘B. Vine’ King Solomon's Carpet 29 She was standing still, alone on the moving stair.
moving staircase n. an escalator; also figurative.
ΘΚΠ
society > travel > means of travel > a conveyance > other means of conveyance > [noun] > escalator
moving staircase1897
moving stairway1897
escalator1900
moving stair1901
1897 Logansport (Indiana) Jrnl. 15 June 2/5 A moving staircase for passengers, in the shape of an endless leather belt transferring them from one story to an other.
1910 Daily News 2 July 10 In the course of the hearing counsel referred to a proposed moving staircase as an ‘escalator’.
1927 J. B. S. Haldane & J. S. Huxley Animal Biol. xiii. 309 All food-particles strained off by the gills are driven up to the dorsal groove. Here they..are passed on by this sort of moving staircase to be digested in the intestine.
1990 T. Pratchett Diggers 28 The Store had been pretty impressive, what with the moving staircases and so on.
2009 K. S. Robinson Galileo's Dream (2010) 255 She..led him to another moving staircase, which carried them up its long incline.
moving stairway n. = moving staircase n.
ΘΚΠ
society > travel > means of travel > a conveyance > other means of conveyance > [noun] > escalator
moving staircase1897
moving stairway1897
escalator1900
moving stair1901
1897 Narka (Kansas) News 26 Feb. 5/1 A moving stairway was tried at the New York terminus of the Brooklyn bridge the other day.
1911 Engineer 6 Oct. 356/3 The escalator or moving stairway connecting the ‘Piccadilly’ and District Railway.
1992 S. Hutson Captives 241 He smiled and hurried to the escalator, scuttling up the moving stairway towards street level.
2004 S. Sennott Encycl. 20th Cent. Archit. 414/2 A much earlier moving stairway system, patented in 1859, was the Ames revolving stair.
moving violation n. U.S. a breach of traffic laws which occurs while the driver's vehicle is in motion, such as speeding or drink-driving (as opposed to one relating to a stationary vehicle, such as a parking offence).
ΘΚΠ
society > law > rule of law > lawlessness > [noun] > violation of law > a violation of the law
law-breachOE
trespassc1290
transgression1426
delict?1473
irregularity1483
infringement1628
violation1870
moving violation1931
1931 El Paso (Texas) Herald-Post 5 Aug. 16/5 438 arrests for moving violations were made.
1993 D. Coyle Hardball iii. iv. 134 He was pulled over on the South Side for a moving violation.
2015 N.Y. Post (Nexis) 13 Feb. 4 Records show he also had two moving violations on his..driver's license.
moving walkway n. = moving pavement n.
ΘΚΠ
society > travel > means of travel > a conveyance > other means of conveyance > [noun] > moving pavement
moving sidewalk1871
moving platform1892
moving walkway1899
slidewalk1948
Speed-walk1955
travelator1955
moving pavement1960
1899 Electr. Rev. 12 Apr. 228/2 While [the Paris walkway is] somewhat similar to moving walkways shown at Chicago in 1893, and Berlin in 1896, neither were more than models in comparison.
1968 New Scientist 26 Sept. 640/2 There will be..a moving walkway along the pier to the two terminals [at Heathrow Airport].
1984 A. Lurie Foreign Affairs (1985) xi. 267 He follows the other passengers out into the corridor to the moving walkway that will carry them to the gate.
2001 Mirror (Electronic ed.) 17 Feb. A developer wants to create a £170 million shopping mall on Sydney Harbour Bridge with moving walkway and restaurants.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, March 2003; most recently modified version published online June 2022).
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n.a1382
adj.?a1425