a1425 (c1395) Bible (Wycliffite, L.V.) (Royal) (1850) Jer. iv. 1 If thou [sc. Israel] takist awei thin offendyngis [a1382 E.V. hurtende thingus; L. offendicula] fro my face, thou schalt not be mouyd.

a1470 T. Malory Morte Darthur (Winch. Coll.) 986 I wolde draw thys swerde oute of the sheethe, but the offendynge ys so grete that I shall nat sende [read sette] my hande thereto.

a1513 W. Dunbar Tabill of Confessioun in Poems (1998) I. 268 To forgif my nychtburis offending.

1561 in D. H. Fleming Reg. Christian Congregation St. Andrews (1889) I. 88 His falt..aganis..the superintendent in blasphemyng, injuryng and contempnyng of hym and offending of hym injustlie.

a1616 W. Shakespeare Othello (1622) i. iii. 80 The very head and front of my offending, Hath this extent no more. View more context for this quotation

1687 A. Behn Amours Philander & Silvia 30 He treated her as if she had been an unspotted Maid; with Caution of Offending, he had forgot that general Rule, That where the sacred Laws of Honour are once invaded, Love makes the easier Conquest.

1722 D. Defoe Moll Flanders 293 All my Repentance appear'd to me to be only the Effect of my fear of Death, not a sincere regret for the wicked Life that I had liv'd,..or for the offending my Creator.

1864 Realm 1 June 7 Signor Scalese's offendings in this respect..were very slight and few.

1875 Overland Monthly Nov. 486/1 The Indian mind can readily understand the rationale of that system which makes those who are called upon to punish him for his offendings also those to whom he can look for justice and steady government.

1979 Ethics 89 252 We seek to mitigate these mutual offendings by a sympathetic restraint.

1993 T. Philpot et al. Community Care (BNC) 24 My offending started when I became a habitual glue sniffer at the age of 12.

1552 R. Huloet Abcedarium Anglico Latinum Offendynge, offensans.

c1595 Countess of Pembroke Psalme lxxviii. 32 in Coll. Wks. (1998) II. 106 Offending bowes, and armor for defence.

a1616 W. Shakespeare Henry V (1623) iv. iii. 29 If it be a sinne to couet Honor, I am the most offending Soule aliue. View more context for this quotation

1677 Philos. Trans. 1676 (Royal Soc.) 11 812 And here, he takes occasion to intimate the design of the Offending Party.

1694 W. Salmon Pharmacopœia Bateana i. vii. 242/2 It gives ease and help in most Diseases of the Brest and Lungs,..calling forth the offending Matter which causes Coughs, Hoarsness [etc.].

1726 J. Swift Cadenus & Vanessa 14 Offending Daughters oft wou'd hear Vanessa's Praise rung in their Ear.

1796 F. Burney Camilla V. ix. iii. 98 She dropt her head over her folded arms upon the table, to hide her offending brother from her sight.

1822 Philos. Trans. (Royal Soc.) 112 306 A body irritating the glottis, will call into simultaneous action the muscles of respiration, so as to throw out the air with a force capable of removing the offending body.

1856 J. A. Froude Hist. Eng. (1858) I. iii. 249 They determined to compel the offending bishop to withdraw his words.

1920 Philos. Rev. 29 47 An angry kick to an offending chair leg is a useless persistence of an angry habit of attack that represents a defence against beings that can be hurt.

1995 Times 29 June 18/4 Microdiscectomy, in which the offending portion of a disc pressing on a nerve is removed, is a relatively quick operation.