ringingn.1
/ˈrɪŋɪŋ/, U.S. /ˈrɪŋɪŋ/ 1.
a. The act of causing a bell or resonant object to sound. Also in various extended uses.
ΘΚΠ
the world > physical sensation > hearing and noise > degree, kind, or quality of sound > resonance or sonority > ringing sound > [noun]
ringOE
ringingc1300
ringlinga1398
trongling1398
tinging1495
cling1578
sing-sing1659
tang1669
dingle-dangle1694
chang1788
dingling1822
ding-a-ling1886
clappering1891
the world > physical sensation > hearing and noise > degree, kind, or quality of sound > resonance or sonority > ringing sound > [noun] > act of ringing
ringingc1300
ring1699
society > leisure > the arts > music > musical sound > sound of instruments > [noun] > sound of bell
knellc961
ringOE
bell-dreamc1175
ringingc1300
clinkingc1386
knellingc1440
ding-dong1611
tang1669
jangling1686
jow17..
steeple-music1732
dinging1767
bell-chimea1822
jowl1822
tintinnabulation1831
ring-a-ding1844
society > leisure > the arts > music > performing music > playing instruments > bell-ringing > [noun]
bell-ringOE
ringingc1300
bell-ringingc1350
knoll1379
toll1452
tollinga1513
jowing1516
round ringinga1661
tintinnabulism1826
clocking1863
clappering1874
tintinnabulation1883
c1300 St. Swithun (Harl.) l. 45 in F. J. Furnivall Early Eng. Poems & Lives Saints (1862) 44 (MED) Bi nyȝte afote myldeliche he wolde þider gon; Aȝen him ne kipte he no ringinge, bobance, ne prute.
a1398 J. Trevisa tr. Bartholomaeus Anglicus De Proprietatibus Rerum (BL Add.) f. 334v Armonia rithimica is a sownyng melody & comeþ of smytyng of strynges and of tynkelyng or ryngyng of metal [L. tinnitu metallorum].
?c1430 (c1400) J. Wyclif Eng. Wks. (1880) 212 (MED) Þe fend techiþ..religious to make solempnyte whanne riche men ben dede wiþ dirige & messis & wax & rengynge & grete festis.
1463 in S. Tymms Wills & Inventories Bury St. Edmunds (1850) 17 (MED) I wele..ye Sexteyn of ye chirche to haue brede and drynkke and xij d. for his rynggyng.
a1500 (c1410) Dives & Pauper (Hunterian) (1980) ii. 193 Ȝif..curatis sellyn þe ryngynge of her bellys at beryyngis or at diriges..it is symonye.
1549 Bk. Common Prayer (STC 16267) Firste Daie of Lente f. xxxi* The people beeyng called together by the ryngyng of a bel.
1580 C. Hollyband Treasurie French Tong Glas,..the chyming or ringing for the dead, a knell.
1642 T. Fuller Holy State iii. xiii. 184 Ringing oftentimes hath made good musick on the bells.
1713 R. Steele Englishman No 50. 323 His Lordship proposes an annual ringing of Bells.
a1719 J. Addison Dialogues Medals in Wks. (1721) I. iii. 527 The Touch..gives almost as good evidence as the Sight, and the Ringing of a Medal is..a very common experiment.
1801 J. Strutt Glig-gamena Angel-ðeod 328 Ringing of rounds..produces no variety; on the contrary, the reiteration of the same cadences in a short time becomes tiresome; for which reason the ringing of changes has been introduced.
1863 ‘G. Eliot’ Romola I. i. 24 In all seasons there was the..ringing of pots and pans.
1919 M. Greenlees tr. O. F. Mentzel Life at Cape in Mid-18th Cent. 157 There are always two soldiers..stationed in the guard-house to see to the ringing of the bell.
1955 Househ. Guide & Almanac (News of World) 270/1 The ringing of bells has proclaimed the joy of mankind—and their tolling marked its sorrow—since the very beginnings of civilisation.
1988 T. Ferris Coming of Age in Milky Way (1989) i. xiv. 279 This final ringing of the gong sends a sound wave climbing upward through the inrushing gas from the envelope of starstuff left behind.
2000 K. de Baar Sentinel of Damned xiv. 384 The ringing at the door had stopped.
b. ringing of (the) changes: the act of going through numerous repetitions of a process; repetition of essentially the same word, statement, etc., in various different ways.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > repeating > [noun]
reiteration?a1425
iteration1477
itering1530
repetition?1550
iteratinga1593
repeat1667
repeating1671
ringing of changes1734
dittoism1884
ofteninga1889
1734 D. Waterland Diss. Argument A Priori ii. 46 The whole seems to amount to little more than the ringing of Changes upon the Word Necessity.
1785 London Mag. Jan. 27/2 Whoever hath strength of mind enough not to be amused with the quaint antithesis, nor with the ringing of changes upon words.
1823 Edinb. Dramat. Rev. 13 Aug. 102 A perpetual ringing of the changes upon king and country, the duties of a soldier, and the endless et cetera of sentiment which have been long consecrated to Dulness.
1850 G. Gilfillan Second Gallery Lit. Portraits 216 By sobs of sound,..by a ringing of changes on certain words and phrases, he sways us as if with the united powers of music and poetry.
1924 A. E. Waite Brotherhood of Rosy Cross ix. 269 The charge against this is a further ringing of changes on the vexed question of religion.
1977 M. B. Crowe Changing Profile Nat. Law v. 131 In the successors of Philip the Chancellor little that is novel appears, beyond a certain ringing of the changes on the concepts of synderesis, conscience, natural law and habitus.
2003 A. D. Boyer Sir E. Coke & Elizabethan Age vii. 104 Coke and his fellow-professionals distrusted change, but they applauded ingenuity, the masterful ringing of changes within the existing system.
2.
a. The fact of a bell or something similar making a sound; the sound produced by a bell or other resonant object. Also in extended use.
ΘΚΠ
the world > physical sensation > hearing and noise > degree, kind, or quality of sound > sounds heard in body > [noun] > ringing, etc., in the ears
ringinga1398
tinklinga1398
sibilusc1400
sounding1600
singing1605
bombus1753
tympanophony1899
zinging1921
a1398 J. Trevisa tr. Bartholomaeus Anglicus De Proprietatibus Rerum (BL Add.) f. 150 At þe noyse and ringinge [L. sonitum] of þe litil belle, he [sc. a partridge] fleeþ aboute..and falliþ in to þe nette.
c1400 (c1378) W. Langland Piers Plowman (Laud 581) (1869) B. v. 396 Were I brouȝte abedde..Sholde no ryngynge do me ryse ar I were rype to dyne.
c1460 (?c1400) Tale of Beryn 1763 Ther no man is within, þe rynging to answere.
a1500 (?a1410) J. Lydgate Churl & Bird (Lansd.) l. 103 in Minor Poems (1934) ii. 472 Ryngyng of ffeteris makith no mery soun.
1581 G. Pettie tr. S. Guazzo Ciuile Conuersat. i. sig. B3v Howe much you differ from those who neuer heard the ringing of other belles then these here.
1660 in Rothesay Town Council Rec. (1935) I. 56 It is ordaynet that thrie monethis cesse be uplifted..and be payet at ringing of the bell.
1797 Encycl. Brit. III. 153/2 This, by striking the bells alternately, [will] occasion a ringing.
1848 C. Dickens Dombey & Son lxii. 621 There is a blithe and merry ringing, as of a little peal of marriage bells.
1895 Atlantic Monthly May 593/2 There was a silence; then..the sharp ringing of a hundred bayonets as they were drawn and fastened to the muskets.
1925 E. H. Young William iv. 38 A ringing of bicycle bells was heard, and then two pedalling figures..appeared.
1958 S. Plath Jrnl. 11 Sept. in K. V. Kukil Jrnls. Sylvia Plath 1950–1962 (2000) 420 A dial tone, dim ringings—although no numbers I dialed took effect.
2006 C. Frazier Thirteen Moons iii. ii. 209 For days after that, all you could hear was the ringing of axes as the soldiers cut and limbed pine trees.
b. The phenomenon whereby a person perceives a continuing sound in the ears when there is no external cause; (as a count noun) a sensation of this; = tinnitus n.
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the world > health and disease > ill health > a disease > disorders of ear > disordered hearing > [noun] > ringing in ears
ringinga1398
tinglinga1398
tinnitus1843
a1398 J. Trevisa tr. Bartholomaeus Anglicus De Proprietatibus Rerum (BL Add.) f. 85 Somtyme þere is noyse þerinne & ringinge, so þat þe pacient weneþ þat he be faste by a mille oþir by organs.
c1425 Bk. Found. St. Bartholomew's (1923) 35 (MED) Sum man ioyed with voyce of Iubilacion that he hadde receyuyd remedie..from ryngyng of his erys.
?a1450 tr. Macer Herbal (Stockh.) (1949) 100 (MED) Þrowe þe smel of brent isope is destruyed þe sownyng and ringing of þe ere.
1527 L. Andrewe tr. H. Brunschwig Vertuose Boke Distyllacyon xiv. sig. Ci v/1 The oxe gall in a mannes eare with a silken cloth heleth the pypynge & rynginge in the eare.
1538 T. Elyot Dict. Tinnimentum, a ryngyng in the eare of a man.
1568 T. Hill Proffitable Arte Gardening (rev. ed.) ii. xliij. f. 131 It doth take away the ringing or sownd of the Eares.
1615 H. Crooke Μικροκοσμογραϕια 591 The patient is vexed with ringings, singings, whistlings and hissing murmures in his Eares.
1661 R. Lovell Πανζωορυκτολογια, sive Panzoologicomineralogia 21 It helpeth the ulcers of the eare. 2. or 3. drops help the ringing of the same.
1718 Free-thinker No. 52. 1 A Ringing..in the Ears..signified, that some One was talking of them in their Absence.
1781 H. Smythson Compl. Family Physician vi. 150/2 The temporal arteries throb much, and a ringing in the ears is extremely troublesome.
1843 R. J. Graves Syst. Clin. Med. xiv. 170 Ringing in ears continues.
1923 H. L. Mencken Let. 16 Oct. in Mencken & Sara (1987) 100 There ensued a great ringing in the ears, with flashes of orange light.
2003 Guardian 1 Mar. (Weekend Suppl.) 53/3 I'm taking cinnarizine to treat dizziness, vertigo and ringing in the ears.
3.
a. Electronics. The phenomenon of transient damped oscillation occurring in a circuit at its resonant frequency as a result of a sudden change in voltage level; (Television) the occurrence on the screen of black lines to the right of a white object, caused by transient oscillation in the video amplifier of the receiver.
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society > communication > broadcasting > television > visual element > [noun] > television picture or image > defects in
multiple image1863
ghost1927
flicker1933
ion spot1936
halation1937
blooming1940
shading1940
misregistration1942
snow1946
snowstorm1948
ringing1949
streaking1956
strobing1961
flickering1968
the world > matter > physics > electromagnetic radiation > electronics > electronic phenomena > [noun] > oscillation > resonance > damped oscillation'(s) at resonant frequency
ring1949
ringing1949
1949 Electronic Engin. 21 207/2 If the attenuation of the high frequencies takes place too suddenly (i.e. sharp cut-off) then we get ringing.
1953 H. A. Chinn Television Broadcasting xvi. 640 This manifestation of ‘ringing’ of the video circuits can be detected by observation of vertical lines in the picture.
1978 Gramophone Jan. 1336/2 There is no suggestion of overshoot or ringing, showing that the amplifier is extremely stable and has a good damping factor.
2001 E. D. Gates Introd. Electronics (ed. 4) xxxi. 293 Overshoot, undershoot, and ringing are conditions common to high-frequency pulses.
2007 K. F. Ibrahim Newnes Guide Television & Video Technol. (ed. 4) xiii. 242 In the case of the line scan, ringing occurs at the beginning of each flyback.
b. The occurrence in a graphical or instrumental output of spurious subsidiary peaks after a main peak. Usually attributive.
ΚΠ
1962 W. G. Walter in R. G. Grenell Neural Physiopathol. vii. 241 In certain cortical regions, however, this response is followed by a series of waves forming a characteristic rhythm which is phase-locked to the stimulus... The phase-locked ‘ringing’ rhythm..is also augumented very markedly by inhalation of CO2.
2003 A. Larralde et al. in I. E. Magnin et al. Functional Imaging & Modeling of Heart i. 42 Calcifications in CTA and ringing artefacts in MRA images are taken into account.
2008 Image & Vision Computing 26 1592/2 These methods suffer much from the staircase artifacts, blurring artifacts, and ringing artifacts adjacent to edge regions.
4. British slang. The illegal practice of changing a stolen vehicle's identity, usually by swapping the registration plates, in an attempt to make it untraceable. Cf. ring v.1 18c.
ΚΠ
1965 Times 9 Nov. 4/5 Elaborate steps are taken by thieves to disguise stolen cars and to hide their tracks, the most typical process being ‘ringing’.
1971 Drive Summer 22/1 Like any commercial venture, the business of car ringing—changing a vehicle's identity—has to be cost-effective.
1992 Independent 4 July 27/1 Mr Marriott..and the dealer who sold the car seem to be victims of ringing.
2001 Evening Times (Glasgow) (Nexis) 21 Mar. 11 A rise in other types of car crime including ringing and cloning, where number plates and serial numbers are changed.
Compounds
ringing day n. a day on which church bells are appointed to be rung.
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society > faith > worship > other practices > [noun] > bell-ringing > day appointed for
ringing day1615
1615–16 in H. J. F. Swayne Churchwardens' Accts. Sarum (1896) 165 Fower vsuall Ringinge daies for the King.
1763 in J. A. Picton City of Liverpool: Select. Munic. Rec. (1886) II. 278 Ordered that four ringing days..be now paid at the expence of the Corporation.
1877 F. Ross et al. Gloss. Words Holderness 115/2 Ringin-day, the 5th November... Bells are rung at intervals during the day.
1886 H. Cunliffe Gloss. Rochdale-with-Rossendale Words & Phrases Ringing-day, the fifth of November.
1998 A. Major Lattice of Years 32 Ringing day when church bells repeal the gunpowder plot.
ringing engine n. now historical and rare a form of piledriver worked by people pulling on ropes in a similar way to bell-ringers.
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society > occupation and work > equipment > driving or beating tools > [noun] > pile-drivers
wilkin1495
rammer1538
gin1682
pile engine1754
piling engine1763
piledriver1766
ringing engine1837
postdriver1857
1837 Amer. Railroad Jrnl. 10 June 355/1 The ringing engine is always employed.
1884 Building News 15 Aug. 242/3 A ringing engine is of similar construction to that of a crab engine.
1913 G. J. Fiebeger Textbk. Field Fortification (ed. 3) 116 A pile-driver in which the ram is raised by men pulling on ropes is called a ringing engine.
1924 E. E. Mann Introd. Pract. Civil Engin. vi. 104 An ordinary pile frame is similar to a ringing engine, except that it is larger.
1995 A. Satoh & R. Morton Building in Brit. ix. 217 The simplest type of pile driving machinery was the ringing engine. This consisted of a frame in which a rammer was raised vertically above the pile by means of a cord passing over a large wheel, and worked by a number of men standing around it.
ringing floor n. = ringing loft n.
ΚΠ
1812 Gentleman's Mag. Apr. 316/1 The stairs up the tower, and to the temporary ringing-floor, stop up the view from E. to W. through the lofty arches of the tower.
1874 J. T. Micklethwaite Mod. Parish Churches 177 Some height above the ringing-floor.
2008 A. McCurdy Organ & Bells Christ Church Philadelphia 6/3 The ringing floor was removed in the mid-1930's for the enlargement of the organ.
ringing-in n. the act of causing a bell to sound for the start of a church service.
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society > faith > worship > church-going > [noun] > bell before service
ringing-in1821
1821 Blackwood's Edinb. Mag. 10 514 (note) The ringing-in bell to this [sc. a Sunday sermon on board ship] was also a picture worth preserving.
1854 A. E. Baker Gloss. Northants. Words II. 176 At the conclusion of chiming for church, during which several bells are used, a single one is rung to announce that the service is about to commence, and this is called ringing-in.
1891 A. Gordon Folks o' Carglen ii. 41 The clang of this bell,..—the ringin'-in, as it is called—which warns me to..race with might and main to the door of the kirk.
1907 S. A. Stern tr. in B. Auerbach On the Heights iv. v. 390 The third bell, or the ringing in, which generally lasts a full quarter of an hour, had just begun, when Hansei and his wife reached the church.
1939 J. M. Caie 'Twixt Hills & Sea 63 The jowin' bell is near the ringin'-in.
ringing loft n. the place below a belfry where bell-ringers stand.
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society > faith > artefacts > division of building (general) > tower or steeple > [noun] > bell-tower > room within for bell-ringers
ringing loft1620
1620 in H. J. F. Swayne Churchwardens' Accts. Sarum (1896) 170 £3 towards the buildinge of the Ringinge Lofte.
1771 F. Fleming Life & Adventures Timothy Ginnadrake I. ii. 31 While Tim was in the zenith of his amusement the prayers ended, and poor Tim was locked into the ringing loft.
1848 J. H. Parker Rickman's Styles Archit. Eng. (ed. 5) 153 They are not used in the bell-chamber, but in the ringing-loft to give air to the ringers.
2007 M. Child Discovering Churches & Churchyards 104 These so-called sound holes obviously enabled the sound of the bells to be heard more clearly, but they were also a means of allowing ventilation into the ringing lofts.
ringing tone n. Telephony the sound produced in a caller's telephone to indicate that a connection with the number dialled has been made and the called phone is ringing.
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society > communication > telecommunication > telegraphy or telephony > telephony > [noun] > signals or tones
call signal1853
telephone call1878
tone1878
ring-off1885
busy tone1902
buzz1913
dialling tone1917
dial tone1920
ringtone1921
ringing tone1922
pip1929
pip-pip-pip1936
logatom1937
pay-tone1958
ringtone1984
1922 V. Karapetoff Exper. Electr. Engin. (ed. 3) I. xxix. 773 During the period of ringing on the calling cord, the subscriber on the answering cord is receiving a ringing tone which indicates to him that the operator is ringing his party.
1943 G. Greene Ministry of Fear i. v. 80 He dialled the number... He was almost afraid to hear the ringing tone.
2000 Times 17 Nov. 5/1 The most popular ringing tone was, not surprisingly, the traditional ring-ring, free from the piercing notes of the more annoying notes.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2010; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
ringingn.2
/ˈrɪŋɪŋ/, U.S. /ˈrɪŋɪŋ/ 1. † b. The practice of placing a ring around the branch of a tree in order to check its vegetative growth. Cf. sense 4. Obsolete. rare.
a. The act or practice of providing a thing with a ring or rings; spec. the putting of a ring in the nose of a bull or a pig. Now chiefly historical.
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the world > food and drink > farming > animal husbandry > animal keeping practices general > [noun] > ringing nose
ringing1483
1483–4 in J. T. Fowler Extracts Acct. Rolls Abbey of Durham (1899) II. 415 Pro le ryngyng unius paris rotarum.
1504 in J. B. Paul Accts. Treasurer Scotl. (1900) II. 438 For ane new pannall to the quenis bottail sadill, tagging, bukkilling, and ringing of the samyn.
1678 S. Butler Hudibras: Third Pt. iii. ii. 111 As wise as Ringing of a Pig, That is to break up ground and Dig.
1778 W. Marshall Minutes Agric. Digest 41 If [oxen are] ungovernable, reclaim them with nose-rings; the operation of ringing is very simple.
1851 H. Stephens Bk. of Farm (ed. 2) II. 181/2 It is nothing uncommon to see the ringing of a bull delayed, until..he must be led by it for some particular purpose.
1884 J. E. T. Rogers Six Cent. Work & Wages iii. 82 The ringing of pigs, in order to prevent their uprooting the ground, was known, though not perhaps universally practised.
1921 R. L. Adams Farm Managem. xxiv. 589 Provision for the ringing of hogs and prohibition of the keeping of breachy live stock.
1992 E. Kerridge Common Fields of Eng. v. 91 Town governments busied themselves with orders for such things as hedging, ditching, the ringing of pigs, [and] the extermination of weeds and vermin.
ΚΠ
1831 On Planting (Libr. Useful Knowl.) ii. 7 Ringing, or placing an iron ring round a branch to prevent the annual increase of bark on the space occupied by the ring.
c. Chiefly Ornithology. The act or practice of securing a ring (ring n.1 3f) on a bird or bat. Also called (esp. in North American use) banding (cf. bird banding n. at bird n. Compounds 2a).
ΘΚΠ
the world > animals > zoology > study of specific types of animal > [noun] > birds > ringing for identification
ringing1910
colour-ringing1939
the world > food and drink > farming > animal husbandry > keeping birds > [noun] > marking or ringing
bird marking1892
bird banding1910
bird ringing1910
ringing1910
banding1914
the world > food and drink > farming > animal husbandry > keeping or breeding other animals > [noun] > ringing bats
ringing1989
1910 British Birds 3 p. iii There is every indication that facts of the utmost interest and importance will be brought to light by the ringing of birds.
1953 Lockley & Russell Bird-Ringing i. 5 It was in 1899 that Herr Christian C. Mortensen laid the foundations of scientific bird-ringing when he placed his first aluminium rings, stamped with numbers, on the legs of young starlings.
1989 Jrnl. Appl. Ecol. 26 110 After ringing, some bats would not be recaught even though they were present in the study area.
2003 Wanderlust Apr.–May 72/1 You will be helping with the mist-netting and ringing of birds, and taking samples of leaves and flowers.
a. Scottish. An object or set of objects in the form of a ring. Obsolete.
ΚΠ
1490 in R. Renwick Extracts Rec. Royal Burgh of Lanark (1893) 7 For a ledyn stan and the ryngin, iij s.
1503 in J. B. Paul Accts. Treasurer Scotl. (1900) II. 219 For xiij girthis, tua ourelaris, i pair double sterap ledderis, quhilk wer covirit with satin crammesy, tagging, ringyng, bukkylling.
b. Ornamentation in the form of rings or bands. Obsolete. rare.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > the arts > visual arts > ornamental art and craft > pattern or design > [noun] > curves or spirals
oundingc1390
bendc1535
wrall1540
tirl1597
scroll1611
gadroon1694
scroll-work1739
queen's pattern1769
rinceau1773
cartouchea1776
curlicue1844
wave1845
scrollage1847
ogee1851
rope border1855
gadrooning1856
rope-work1866
vermiculation1866
ringing1885
scrollery1892
twirligig1902
C-scroll1904
trumpet spiral1936
trumpet pattern1937
koru1938
1885 H. O. Forbes Naturalist's Wanderings Eastern Archipel. 203 The ringing on the arms, which the natives call bracelets.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > sport > types of sport or game > quoits > [noun] > playing
quoiting1366
ringing1621
1621 R. Burton Anat. Melancholy ii. ii. iv. 342 Many other sports and recreations there be, much in vse, as Ringing, bowling, shooting... Riding of great horses, running at ring,..are the disports of greater men.
1633 W. Prynne Histrio-mastix ii. 966 Though men are debard from Stage-playes, Dicing,..or any other unlawfull sports, they have store of honest, of healthfull recreations still remaining, with which to refresh themselves; as walking, riding, fishing, fowling, hawking, hunting, ringing, leaping, vauting, wrestling [etc.].
1704 W. Nelson Office & Authority Justice of Peace 155 Those who on that day [sc. the Sabbath] keep or resort to Bowling, Church, Ale, Dancing, Ringing, or any Sport whatsoever, forfeits [sic] 5 s. if above fourteen years old.
1710 O. Sansom Acct. Life 7 Young-men, at their vain Sports and Pastimes, as Ringing, Dancing and the like.
1859 H. Keddie Nut-brown Maids ix. 177 Master Yorke varied the discussion to the games of ringing, bowling, keel-pins, quoits, hurling, [etc.].
4. The operation or practice of cutting a ring of bark from a branch or tree; ringbarking. Cf. ring v.2 9b, and girdling n. 1.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > farming > forestry or arboriculture > [noun] > removing bark from trees > removing circle of bark
ring1700
girdling1792
ringing1816
girdle1825
notch-ringing1884
ringbarking1938
1816 P. Lyon Treat. Physiol. & Pathol. Trees 52 Partial ringing; that is, cutting out a ring one half round the circumference [of the tree]..and a ligature..have similar effects.
1849 Cottage Gardener 18 Oct. 27/1 Ringing had also been practiced, and in a year or so afterwards these huge Aston-town pears had a ring of bark removed... ‘Kill or cure’ was the maxim.
1884 Australasian 8 Nov. 875/2 As the object is to kill the tree, ringing should be carried out when the sap is up.
1912 W. D. Boyce Illustr. S. Amer. 244 I observed the usual wanton destruction of fine forests to make room for settlers' fields by the ‘ringing’ of trees and then setting them on fire after they had died.
1953 Plant Physiol. 28 179 Some defoliation in summer and a small amount of premature yellowing and leaf abscission sometimes resulted from ringing.
2003 Raising Seedlings Trop. Trees (Commonw. Secretariat) 35 Bark ringing (or girdling) is a centuries-old way of stimulating flowering in trees.
5. Australian and New Zealand. The action by cattle or sheep of moving round in a circle; milling.
ΘΚΠ
the world > movement > motion in a certain direction > movement in circle or curve > [noun] > movement in circle
umganga1300
umganginga1340
circlingc1440
compassing1530
circuition1533
circulation1535
round1539
circumgyration1606
rounding1612
circuling1647
circuiting1659
circumagitation1660
circuity1770
ringing1868
milling1874
circumfluence1881
ring-a-ring1922
mill1961
the world > animals > mammals > group Ungulata (hoofed) > group Ruminantia (sheep, goats, cows, etc.) > bos taurus or ox > [noun] > oxen or cattle > forming a ring
ringing1868
1868 C. W. Browne Overlanding in Austral. 77 After an hour's amusement of this sort, they stop of their own accord. This evolution is termed ‘ringing’.
1934 L. G. D. Acland in Press (Christchurch, N.Z.) 27 Jan. 15 Merino sheep on the flat, especially when coming to a gate, are apt to circle. The centre of the mob may stand still or move slowly forward; but the outside sheep gallop round and round them. This is called ringing. It is annoying to see the sheep racing past the gate instead of going through it.
1941 S. J. Baker Pop. Dict. Austral. Slang 60 Ringing, the milling of cattle.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2010; most recently modified version published online June 2022).
ringingadj.1
/ˈrɪŋɪŋ/, U.S. /ˈrɪŋɪŋ/ 1.
a. Having or giving out the sound of a bell, or of some similar metallic body; resounding, resonant. Also figurative.
ΘΚΠ
the world > physical sensation > hearing and noise > degree, kind, or quality of sound > resonance or sonority > [adjective]
loudc897
shillOE
brightOE
shillinga1225
soundingc1374
ringingc1400
sonore?c1400
resoundingc1425
sonousc1429
resoundable?c1500
soundish1530
high-sounding1560
singing1565
resonant1572
trolling1581
rumbelow1582
sonorous1611
canorous1646
remugient1660
retentive1728
fullish1770
pealing1794
resonating1845
plangent1858
resonatory1880
timbrous1929
the world > physical sensation > hearing and noise > degree, kind, or quality of sound > resonance or sonority > ringing sound > [adjective]
ringingc1400
tinging1591
tinnient1668
outringing1842
ringy1852
bell-like1865
c1400 (?c1380) Cleanness (1920) 1082 (MED) Aungelles wyth instrumentes of organes and pypes, And rial ryngande rotes..Aboutte my Lady watz lent.
a1460 Knyghthode & Bataile (Pembr. Cambr. 243) 633 (MED) As myghti herte in ryngynge herneysinge, So gentil wit wil in good metris springe.
a1500 (c1400) St. Erkenwald (1977) l. 62 (MED) Laddes..Ronnen radly in route wyt ryngande noyce.
1557 Earl of Surrey et al. Songes & Sonettes (new ed.) f. 108v And if you want of ringing bels, When that my corps goth into graue.
1582 R. Stanyhurst tr. Virgil First Foure Bookes Æneis ii. 25 Thee skyes lowd rumbled with ringing thunderus hurring.
1590 E. Spenser Faerie Queene iii. iii. sig. Dd7v Loud strokes, and ringing sowndes.
1602 F. Herring tr. J. Oberndorf Anatomyes True Physition 17 The ringing Name and Fame of a great Phisition.
1615 in J. Stuart Extracts Council Reg. Aberdeen (1848) II. 324 And thairfra to the ringand stane lying on the west syde of the medow of Brotherfeild.
1700 R. Blackmore Paraphr. Job xxix. 125 The Naked, Blind, and Lame, Thro' ringing Streets my Bounty did proclaim.
1729 G. Shelvocke, Jr. tr. K. Siemienowicz Great Art Artillery iv. 292 Tin..loses its noisy or ringing Quality.
1810 R. Southey Curse of Kehama xvii. 187 Baly! great Baly! still The ringing walls and echoing towers proclaim.
1837 E. Bulwer-Lytton Ernest Maltravers I. i. xv. 144 Next came a most ringing laugh.
1870 Standard 5 Dec. Prince Frederick Charles has only to win one ringing victory to leave Paris face to face with a..desperate situation.
1872 J. Yeats Techn. Hist. Commerce 135 The vessels they moulded were baked in a fire, and had a hard ringing sound.
1890 Spectator 8 Mar. There is a ringing story yet to be told of the heroism of the Italians.
1914 Colliers 1 Aug. 5/1 This information will be received with loud, ringing cheers.
1931 P. L. Anderson For Freedom & for Gaul vi. 149 All at once there came to our ears the ringing note of the Roman bugles blowing the charge.
1971 Ink 31 July 16/2 Those ringing certainties which made ‘Woodstock’ and ‘Big Yellow Taxi’ into such cosy sing-alongs.
2007 Independent 23 Nov. (Extra section) 5/4 Ringing phones, beeping Blackberrys and bulging inboxes—the modern office worker finds it increasingly difficult to walk away from the desk.
b. Of frost: severe, so that the ground rings under the feet.
ΘΚΠ
the world > the earth > weather and the atmosphere > weather > cold weather > [adjective] > intensely cold, freezing, or frosty > frosty > keen or hard (of frost)
hardOE
ringing1824
strict1893
1824 Blackwood's Edinb. Mag. Feb. 173/1 One short day of hard and ringing frost.
1862 T. Carlyle Hist. Friedrich II of Prussia III. xii. ii. 194 Rain ending, there ensued a ringing frost.
1906 Atlantic Monthly Sept. 357/1 Hardy strikes his key unerringly, and never leaves it, dealing in cheerfulness, good smells, wholesome sun, warm fires, ringing frost.
2005 Irish Times (Nexis) 30 May 21 The cleanest silence I ever experienced was..high up in the Drakensberg mountains on a night of ringing frost with ice-cold stars almost within reach.
c. Of wind: strong and loud; brisk, vigorous.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > quantity > greatness of quantity, amount, or degree > [adjective] > very great
swappingc1440
bumping1566
thumping1576
swingeinga1592
knocking1598
gigantical1604
gigantine1605
gigantean1611
gigantal?1614
thundering1618
whoppinga1625
humming1654
rapping1657
whisking1673
threshing1707
sousing1735
nation1765
heroic1785
runaway1790
spanking1791
gigantic1797
whacking1797
cracking1834
ringing1834
bouncing1842
walloping1847
stavingc1850
banging1864
howling1865
whooping1866
smacking1888
God almighty1913
Christ almighty1961
1834 Parterre 1 178/2 Gray, naked windows, filled with azure sky, Rise round thy scarlet pattern work, and breathe, To ringing winds, their own sad dirigy!
1876 G. Meredith Beauchamp's Career II. xiii. 232 Cecilia's noble schooner was sure to be out in such a ringing breeze.
2004 Berkshire Eagle (Pittsfield, Mass.) (Nexis) 13 Oct. Readjusting their ears to..the constant roar of traffic on the Interstate below after 28 days of the silence of mountain forest and the ringing winds of far distances.
2. In the names of animals, as ringing bird, ringing caterpillar, ringing frog, etc. Now historical.
ΚΠ
1709 W. Dampier Contin. Voy. New-Holland ii. 74 One sort of these pretty little Birds my Men call'd the Ringing-bird; because it had six Notes, and..repeated all his Notes twice one after another.
1724 Derham Notes Albin's Eng. Insects Index Ringing Caterpillar [the chrysalis of which could make a glass ring like a bell].
1802 R. Kerr tr. Comte de Buffon Nat. Hist. Oviparous Quadrupeds & Serpents II. 235 The Ringing Frog... The specific name is derived from its voice, which is clear, round, and ringing.
1880 W. H. D. Adams Eastern Archipel. ii. i. 220 The air is often startled by the peculiar music of a thrush, which Dampier calls the ‘ringing-bird’.
1993 D. F. Lach & E. J. Van Kley Asia Making of Europe III. iii. xviii. 1464 (note) Wallace..could not identify Dampier's ringing bird.
Compounds
ΘΚΠ
society > trade and finance > money > coining > [noun] > specific processes > test a coin for soundness > person employed to ring
ringing boy1858
1858 Leisure Hour 14 Oct. 654/1 The good blanks are passed to the ringing-boys, who sound them on iron anvils, and reject those which do not ring.
1893 Daily News 9 June 5/4 In order to detect these defaulters a number of..ringing boys are employed.
Derivatives
ˈringingly adv.
ΘΚΠ
the world > physical sensation > hearing and noise > degree, kind, or quality of sound > resonance or sonority > ringing sound > [adverb]
ringingly1823
zingingly1952
1823 Knight's Q. Mag. 1 362 Carew, the linnet, warblingly tender; Caradori, the canary-bird, ringingly clear.
1859 K. Cornwallis Panorama New World I. 197 The wild denizens of the wilderness, who uttered their war-cry so ringingly in our ears.
1876 G. Meredith Beauchamp's Career II. iii. 39 He had leisure to think over the blow dealt him..so ringingly on the head.
1991 Industr. Law Jrnl. 20 310 This is fully consonant with the principle of supremacy of Community law so recently and ringingly endorsed by the Court.
ˈringingness n.
ΘΚΠ
the world > physical sensation > hearing and noise > degree, kind, or quality of sound > resonance or sonority > [noun] > resonant quality
fullness1440
shillness1486
sonority1623
resonance1669
sonorousness1669
soundingness1727
sonorosity1772
sonoriety1828
plangency1858
canorousness1870
ringingness1874
1874 F. R. Havergal in Mem. (1880) 153 There was a ringingness in her touch, playing with such joyance.
2000 V. V. Arabadzhi in R. Ohayon & M. Bernadou Tenth Internat. Conf. on Adaptive Structures & Technol. 1999 627 Duration of Green's function caused by finite wave dimension of BP, or by many reflections i.e. ‘ringingness’ of BP.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2010; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
ringingadj.2
/ˈrɪŋɪŋ/, U.S. /ˈrɪŋɪŋ/ Now rare.
1. Circling; running in rings or circles.
ΚΠ
1828 Sporting Mag. May 10/2 The majority of the coverts are whin..and ringing runs generally prevail where they abound.
1832 New Sporting Mag. Feb. 287/1 Sharnbrook. Fifty minutes with a ringing fox: ran to ground.
1887 M. E. Braddon Like & Unlike I. iv. 105 The fox was what Helen called ‘a ringing brute’.
1908 K. Mackau Songs Sunlit Land 3 The swift, uneasy stamp of ‘ringing’ cattle.
1920 J. Mackillop in J. Mackillop et al. Lett. to Young Sportsmen on Hunting, Angling & Shooting iii. 18 On bad scenting days and with ringing foxes they see all there is to see.
2. Forming a circle or ring; standing or gathering around.
ΚΠ
1896 Archaeol. Jrnl. 53 142 A great number of these single erect monoliths and ringing stones are also met with in the waste il-Guiedi between Mnaidra and Haġar-Qim.
1904 F. Lynde Grafters xxvi. 339 The waiting was a little awkward. The ringing idlers were good-natured but curious.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2010; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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n.1c1300
n.21483adj.1c1400adj.21828