proddingn.
/ˈprɒdɪŋ/, U.S. /ˈprɑdɪŋ/ The action of prod v. (in various senses); an instance of this.
ΘΚΠ
the world > movement > impact > striking > striking in specific manner > [noun] > striking with pushing action > poking or prodding
poking1582
prodding1864
1864 C. Dickens Our Mutual Friend (1865) I. ii. vii. 231 Whether I gave myself up to prodding, or whether I gave myself up to scooping, I couldn't do it with that delicate touch so as not to show that I was disturbing the mounds.
1883 E. Ingersoll in Harper's Mag. Jan. 206/1 Under resounding thwacks and proddings of an iron-tipped goad, the..cattle snake the log endwise down the hill.
1920 Blackwood's Mag. Jan. 114/2 The noise of the thumpings and proddings of the beaters' sticks into every likely tuft and bush.
1991 R. R. McCammon Boy's Life i. vi. 75 We didn't need much prodding.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2007; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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n.1864