a1450 Generides (Pierpont Morgan) (1865) 8919 (MED) Without lenger questionyng, Ech told othir tithing, And so departed thei twey.

1547 Bp. S. Gardiner Let. 1 July (1933) 340 Ther is a company of other vertues ther with fayth, as all men agree, and requireth a longe pryenge, questioning, and searching.

1577 A. Golding tr. J. Calvin Serm. Epist. Ephesians xxvi. f. 184 ^v They which haue some deuoutnesse, torment themselues greatly, and take paynes too inquyre of this and that, alwayes full of hartbytings, alwayes full of questionings.

1580 J. Hester tr. L. Fioravanti Short Disc. Chirurg. Lii^v There hath alwayes beene a greate questioning among the Philosophers.

a1635 R. Sibbes Heavenly Conf. (1656) 94 The ministeriall questioning of sinners.

1677 R. Gilpin Dæmonol. Sacra ii. ix. 397 Unseemly questionings of his Goodness and Compassion.

1715 J. Browne & W. Oldisworth State Tracts II. 244 Impertinent, and yet precise, Who, by much questioning, would be thought wise.

1791 J. Boswell Life Johnson anno 1776 II. 41 Johnson: Questioning is not the mode of conversation among gentlemen.

1807 W. Wordsworth Ode in Poems II. 155 Those obstinate questionings Of sense and outward things. View more context for this quotation

1861 ‘G. Eliot’ Silas Marner vii. 110 Silas now told his story under frequent questioning.

1907 E. von Arnim Fräulein Schmidt xxxv. 130 I do love Papa. He..lets me do what I want without the least waste of time in questionings or the giving of advice.

1965 Listener 3 June 828/1 The search itself revealed nothing incriminating, but I decided to take Amu Yaima back to headquarters for questioning.

1990 Raritan Spring 143 Harpham is apparently convinced that a questioning of traditional notions of intrinsic value..could proceed only from intellectual profligacy.

1600 R. Kittowe Loues Load-starre 34 Who..vttered laconicall answeres to all their vaine questioning Items, with no, and I.

1656 Duchess of Newcastle Contract vi. 189 sig. Bb3 My Uncle is..kinde, and studies for my good, wherefore I submit, and could now chide my self for these questioning Thoughts.

1707 N. Tate Injur'd Love iv. i. 52 I see, Sir, by your questioning stern Looks, You would be satisfi'd about this Quarrel.

1793 C. Smith Old Manor House II. vii. 153 Her fierce eyes were fixed on the countenance of her trembling niece with a look of questioning doubt.

1801 C. Smith Lett. Solitary Wanderer I. 234 Under..the questioning eye of his father.

1837 W. Whewell Hist. Inductive Sci. I. i. i. 25 The vigour and confidence of the questioning spirit.

1858 H. W. Longfellow Courtship Miles Standish vi. 31 Like a ghost that is speechless, Till some questioning voice dissolves the spell of its silence.

1936 R. W. Tully & D. Belasco Rose of Rancho ii. 113 (stage direct.) She looks at him with questioning eyes.

1991 J. Phillips You'll never eat Lunch in this Town Again 243 Richard gives me a questioning look..but I put my finger over my mouth and make a small imperceptible shake of my head.

1677 F. Bampfield Seventh-day-sabbath 46 Upon this Supposition, I would thus questioningly argue; either Christ that year kept the very day of Passover, according to Institution, or not.

1847 Fraser's Mag. Feb. 242/1 Elspeth with keen eyes looked questioningly on the crowd, and saw nothing but applauding gestures.

1915 D. H. Lawrence Rainbow i. 27 She was looking at him questioningly.

1999 W. Gibson All Tomorrow's Parties lix. 244 Fontaine brought the gun up beneath his nose, sniffed at it, and raised his eyebrows questioningly.