sinkingn.

Brit.

/ˈsɪŋkɪŋ/, U.S.

/ˈsɪŋkɪŋ/

Forms: see sink v. and -ing suffix¹.

Origin: Formed within English, by derivation. Etymons: sink v., -ing suffix¹.

Etymology: < sink v. + -ing suffix¹.

1. Downward movement, esp. of a vessel to the bottom of the sea, a lake, etc.; subsidence, lowering; an instance of this.

ΘΚΠ

the world > movement > motion in a certain direction > downward motion > [noun] > sinking down

settlingc1440

sinking1440

declining1601

subsiding1607

subsidency1650

sedation1661

sinking-in1678

subsidence1754

sinkage1783

settlement1793

society > travel > travel by water > shipwreck > [noun] > sinking

sinking1440

drowning1539

the world > movement > motion in a certain direction > downward motion > [noun] > sinking down > sinking or submerging in liquid

submersion?a1425

sinking1440

demersion1692

submerging1704

submergement1808

Promptorium Parvulorum (Harl. 221) 78 Cynkynge, dimersio, submercio.

a1500 Anc. Sc. Prophecy in Bernardus de Cura Rei Famuliaris 33 Þe barge of bariona [sall] bowne to the senkyne.

1565 T. Cooper Thesaurus Sedimentum, a sinkyng downe to the botome.

1586 R. Lane in R. Hakluyt Princ. Navigations (1589) 741 There was no possibility of passage without sinking of our boates.

1630 Order in R. Griffiths Ess. Jurisdict. Thames (1746) 74 No Trinck shall stand to fish..at the rising or sinking of any Mother-Fishes.

1662 B. Gerbier Brief Disc. Princ. Building 19 To prevent the sinking and bending of their Walls.

1765 S. Foote Commissary ii. 27 One, two, three, ha. There are risings and sinkings [of the body in dancing].

1799 Med. & Physical Jrnl. 2 460 The alternate swelling and sinking of the brain, during inspiration and expiration.

1837 P. Keith Bot. Lexicon 348 The sinking of the one knob and the swimming of the other.

1841 C. Lyell Elements Geol. (ed. 2) II. xxxiii. 359 The rising or sinking of the earth's crust, operations by which sea is converted into land, and land into sea, are a part only of the consequences of subterranean igneous action.

1895 Outing 27 203/1 Bend the knees quickly and fall soft—a sinking down is better for the flesh than a downright tumble.

1957 G. E. Hutchinson Treat. Limnol. I. v. 270 With an offshore wind, coastal upsetting will occur; with an onshore wind, coastal sinking.

2006 Up Here (Yellowknife, N.W. Territories) Jan. 53/3 Hitting overflow may give the sensation of sinking, but don't panic—there is solid ice below.

a. The action of sinking something (in various senses of sink v.); an instance of this.

ΘΚΠ

the world > movement > motion in a certain direction > downward motion > causing to come or go down > [noun] > causing to sink

sinking1503

society > travel > travel by water > shipwreck > [noun] > sinking > causing sinking

sinking1503

the world > action or operation > completing > non-completion > [noun] > giving up an enterprise

sinking1705

dropping1813

society > trade and finance > financial dealings > types of money-dealing > [noun] > investment

improvement1549

investiture1757

investing1766

investment1774

sinking1890

1503 T. Lewington tr. Art of Good Lywyng & Good Deyng sig. niij/1 The nyght of the synkyng of the .v. cytes.

1558 in J. B. Paul Accts. Treasurer Scotl. (1913) X. 438 For sinking and graving of ane double falcone berand the Quenis grace [armis].

1605 W. Camden Remaines ii. 38 His conquering of Cyprus, the sinkinge of the great Galliasse of the Saracens.

1683 J. Moxon Mech. Exercises II. 129 When I come to the sinking and justifying of Matrices.

1705 J. Blair in W. S. Perry Hist. Coll. Amer. Colonial Church: Virginia (1870) I. 150 Some proposing the cancelling of the said Aspersions, other[s], the sinking of the whole paper.

1827 New Monthly Mag. 21 132/1 The Brass Coin is one of the Medals struck in commemoration of the sinking of the Spanish galleons in Vigo Bay by the combined fleet of England and Holland in 1702.

1890 W. J. Gordon Foundry 223 Though rotary presses at £7,000 apiece require a somewhat alarming sinking of capital.

1939 W. S. Churchill Into Battle (1941) 132 We have captured..more German merchandise..than we have lost by all the U-boat sinkings put together.

1997 M. Mayo VideoHound's Video Premieres 182/2 At no point in this one do you care about the sinking of a putt or the winning of a match. Instead, it's about characters.

b. spec. The action or act of boring or excavating downwards in search of coal or ore; (also) the pit or shaft thus formed.

ΘΚΠ

society > occupation and work > industry > mining > [noun] > excavating or sinking of shaft

sinking1613

raising-pair1747

stoping1778

sumping1824

drifting1853

shafting1872

society > occupation and work > workplace > places where raw materials are extracted > mine > [noun] > shaft

groovea1400

shaft1433

sink1557

mine pit1587

sinking1613

footway1778

shank1790

mine shaft1818

1613 J. Rovenzon Treat. Metallica sig. B4 Quicke sinking of pits.

1694 T. Houghton Royal Inst. Postscript 97 They [sc. the Spaniards] Gathered much Gold, without the Experience of Digging, Mining, and Sinking of Shafts, to seek for Veyns and Rakes.

1747 W. Hooson Miners Dict. sig. Sij The Vein becomes hard and streat,..and endures so many Yards in Sinking, and then at last breaks over again, and the Ore proves to be as good and stronge as..before; these Levells are called Sets, as the first is the Top-Set, the second which is found out by Sinking through the Deadness, is called the Under-Set.

1839 R. I. Murchison Silurian Syst. i. ii. 22 I..learned that sinkings in search of coal had been prosecuted..in the district.

1922 Coal Age 12 Oct. 614/2 Prices named by Springfield operators and dealers will determine whether or not the City is to proceed further with its plan for the sinking of a municipal coal shaft.

2013 Minerals Yearbk. 2011 (U.S. Dept. Interior) III. 5.2 The sinking of a 795-meter (m) shaft to access the mine's Offset Zone continued in 2011 and was expected to be completed in late 2012.

a. Reduction or loss of strength (of the body or a part or function of the body); an instance of this; esp. an episode of fainting or a feeling of faintness. Also: a (reported) feeling of weakness, discomfort, or hollowness, esp. in the region of the heart or stomach, regarded as a symptom of physical disease.Now only in sinking spell n. at Compounds 2. Cf. sinking feeling n. at Compounds 1.

ΘΚΠ

the world > health and disease > ill health > [noun] > weakening or decline in health

failinga1382

sickeninga1382

wasting1398

downhielda1400

dissolutionc1400

debilitationa1492

defailing1502

effeeblishing1540

faintingc1540

effeeblishment1545

enervationa1575

feeblishing1574

declining1588

decay1609

flagging1611

labefaction1620

feebling1624

sinking1625

deading1645

dejection1652

fail1654

emperiment1674

decline1770

sapping1825

breakdown1858

attenuation1868

the world > physical sensation > sleeping and waking > weariness or exhaustion > [noun] > becoming

swooningc1290

languishingc1384

droopingc1400

fainting1601

flagging1611

sinking1625

jading1641

collapsing1855

crocking1928

1625 S. Bradwell Watch-man for Pest 50 The Signes of the Plague (therefore) are commonly these. First, a secret sinking of the Spirits and Powers of Nature, with a painfull wearinesse of the bones, and all without any manifest cause.

1697 W. Cockburn Contin. Acct. Nature Distempers Seafaring People 15 They..can never bear so large a bleeding..and very seldom can endure the loss of ten or twelve ounces of blood without a sinking in their heart (as they call it).

1730 N. Bailey et al. Dictionarium Britannicum at Arythmos A Sinking and Failure of the Pulse, so as it can be no longer felt.

a1776 R. James Vindic. Fever Powder in Diss. Fevers (1778) 125 That kind of sensation which patients describe by a sinking, a sort of laziness in taking the air into the lungs, or difficulty of respiration, unaccountable terrors on very slight occasions, [etc.].

1813 J. Thomson Lect. Inflammation 169 We may, by too free a detraction of blood, produce a sudden sinking of the powers of life.

1843 R. J. Graves Syst. Clin. Med. ix. 101 Coldness of the extremities and sinking of the pulse.

1911 C. Allbutt in J. H. Musser & A. O. J. Kelly Handbk. Pract. Treatm. II. 126 Not quite in the same class, however, are the patients who complain of sinkings at the heart, or even as if the organ had vanished out of the body.

b. A lowering or drooping of the spirits; dejection.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > emotion > suffering > dejection > [noun] > action of becoming dejected

moping1638

sinking1653

desponding1818

peak and pine1868

1653 H. More Let. 2 June in Conway Lett. (1992) ii. 82 I am troubled with a..sinking of spirits.

1663 J. Spencer Disc. Prodigies v. 81 Those horrours and sinkings [1665 sinking] of spirit in bad men.

1725 W. Cuninghame Let. Oct. in M. A. Forbes Curiosities Sc. Charta Chest (1897) iv. 79 Your mother is now and then made uneasy by the sinking of the spirits.

1829 W. Scott Let. 30 Jan. (1936) XI. 118 Johnson, however indulgent to his own sinkings of the spirits, had little tolerance for those of his imitator.

1888 Times (Weekly ed.) 23 Jan. 13/2 I felt a sinking at my heart, lest..I should find myself unable to go any further.

1940 D. Curran Piano in Band i. 13 He felt a sinking inside him at thought of another tour—the dreary hotels, the night trains, the lost lonely feel of strange theatres.

2005 Guardian 11 Feb. i. 28/2 What is the good republican to make of this impending royal nuptial? Oh, that deep sinking of the heart.

4. gen. Deterioration, reduction, falling away; an instance of this.

ΚΠ

1701 R. Cocks Diary 2 May in Parl. Diary (1996) 107 Upon the debate we allowed to have one shillings of the three on land..appropriated for the sinking of exchecquer bills.

1718 T. Hearne Remarks & Coll. (1902) VI. 126 This sinking of the value of Money creates abundance of Murmuring.

1727 A. Pope (title) Peri Bathous: or, Martinus Scriblerus his Treatise of the Art of Sinking in Poetry.

1741 S. Richardson Pamela (ed. 2) I. Introd. p. xxvi These are wonderful Sinkings from Purpose.

1813 M. Berry Let. 21 Feb. (1865) II. 530 The nymph Florina, whom he was expecting to arrive..to his longing arms by the waggon on Saturday (what a sinking in poetry!) is not yet come.

a1851 D. M. Moir Poet. Wks. (1852) II. 11 In his soarings he was Heavenly, In his sinkings he was man.

1897 Daily News 18 June 4/3 The sinking of the prices paid in the London markets.

1999 Writing Ulster No. 6. 19 The sinking of his establishment to the level of a mere palais de danse.

5. A depression; an excised recess or hollow. Also: the extent of such a depression.

ΘΚΠ

the world > space > shape > unevenness > condition or fact of receding > [noun] > action of making indentation > an indentation on a surface

hollowc897

printa1387

impression1398

puncha1430

dent1565

dint1590

dinge1611

doke1615

impressurea1616

depressure1626

depression1665

dawk1678

swage1680

indent1690

sinking1712

dunkle1788

indenture1793

delve1811

subsidation1838

indention1839

recess1839

indentation1847

incavation1852

deepening1859

sink1875

malleation1881

ding1922

1712 J. James tr. A.-J. Dézallier d'Argenville Theory & Pract. Gardening 27 Niches cut for Figures, and two Sinkings for Shells and Buffets of Water.

1712 J. James tr. A.-J. Dézallier d'Argenville Theory & Pract. Gardening 137 The Depth or Sinking you would give the Bowling-green.

1797 T. Holcroft tr. F. L. Stolberg Trav. II. xxxviii. 27 The sinking under the stage is of a great depth.

1825 ‘J. Nicholson’ Operative Mechanic 615 A beech mould is next made..of the profile of the intended cornice,..with the quirks, or small sinkings, of brass or copper.

1863 Archaeologia Cantiana 5 16 One piece with chamfered sinkings, probably a piece of Norman moulding.

1879 Cassell's Techn. Educator (1894) III. 176/2 A dovetail sinking is cut on the upper surface of the stones at the ends.

1910 A. B. Pite et al. Building Constr. viii. 208 This is a tool recently introduced for cutting mouldings, small sinkings, etc., in granite.

1983 J. S. Foster Struct. & Fabric (rev. ed.) I. iii. 122/1 The Y-shaped cavity resulting from the V-shaped sinkings in adjacent stones.

6. Painting. The process by which pigments in an oil painting sink into or become absorbed by the ground; an instance of this; = sinking-in n. (b) at Compounds 2. Also: a dull matt spot on the surface of an oil painting caused by this absorption.

ΘΚΠ

society > leisure > the arts > visual arts > painting and drawing > condition or preservation of paintings > [noun] > sinking

sinking1915

1915 P. Young tr. J. G. Vibert Sci. Painting ix. 118 Where, in the execution of a picture on account of repeated re-touching, embus or sinkings appear, it is possible..to make them disappear with a light scumbling of re-touching varnish.

1951 R. Mayer Artist's Handbk. (new ed.) xii. 433 Embu, (French), in an oil painting, a dull spot in an otherwise glossy surface, caused by a sinking-in of the oil color.

1971 B. Dorf Beginner's Guide to Painting in Oils xiii. 158 Sinking, dull patches in oil paint, caused by too absorbent ground, wrong medium, or too much dilutant.

1991 Artist Nov. 33/2 To prevent ‘sinking’ in the dark background and drapes linseed oil diluted with turpentine is applied at the end of the painting and the permanent varnish applied a year or two later.

Phrases

sinking and drawing n. Angling a method of angling in which the bait is allowed to sink and then gently drawn up again; an example of this. Cf. sink and draw at sink v. Phrases 3.

ΘΚΠ

the world > food and drink > hunting > fishing > type or method of fishing > [noun] > angling > using other methods

drabble1799

sinking and drawing1838

spinning1855

skittering1883

1838 W. Shipley True Treat. Art Fly-fishing x. 201 This mode of fishing is called sinking and drawing. We have seen it practised with as much success as maggot-fishing..the method being most successful in deep holes, where the bottom was not visible.

1856 ‘Stonehenge’ Man. Brit. Rural Sports i. v. iii. 251/2 Chub-Fishing... Sinking and drawing is therefore practised, because by this mode the line is not so likely to be entangled.

1905 National Rev. Nov. 512 The most deadly way of taking huchen is by the method known as ‘sinking and drawing,’ with a flight of hooks baited with a bunch of sandeels, lampreys, or lobworms.

1939 Gloucester Jrnl. 15 Apr. 5/4 Another angler asks: ‘Is sinking and drawing any good for trout?’ Yes, it is, but you can use a small worm instead of a maggot and fly.

Compounds

C1.

sinking feeling n. an unpleasant bodily sensation caused by hunger or (now esp.) the apprehension that something unpleasant or undesirable is about to happen.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > emotion > fear > physical symptoms of fear > [noun] > sinking feeling

sinking feeling1890

the world > food and drink > food > consumption of food or drink > appetite > hunger > [noun]

hungerc825

appetite1303

famec1515

sharpness1581

suction1615

meat-will1643

sucking1656

sharpsetness1673

esurition1678

stomach-worm1788

hunger-pain1820

yird-hunger1825

appetizement1826

yapness1828

esuriencea1834

peckishness1871

sinking feeling1890

1798 Gentleman's Mag. June 479/2 On going to-bed, I had the same sinking sensation, and soon after was attacked with a violent burning pain and contraction of the stomach.]

1890 H. G. Hutchinson in H. G. Hutchinson et al. Golf (Badminton Libr. of Sports & Pastimes) ix. 246 The nerves and muscles must be fed for the work before them; otherwise there will ensue a dreadful sinking feeling before the end of the round.

1920 C. A. W. Monckton Some Exper. New Guinea Resident Magistr. xxv. 302 ‘Do you feel devilish hungry half an hour before meals?’..‘Yes,..sometimes so hungry that I have a sinking feeling.’

1937 Discovery Oct. 295/1 The slight sinking feeling experienced by pedestrian members.., when faced by the considerable uphill trudge.

1979 L. Meyer False Front xiii. 108 I got that nasty sinking feeling again. We..couldn't get the story into the paper.

2004 Radio Times 5 June (Midlands ed.) 106/2 Just like you, we get a horrible sinking feeling at the prospect of yet another reality-cum-search-for-a-star show.

C2.

† sinking heart-burn n. Obsolete rare pain in the chest accompanied by a tendency to faint.

ΚΠ

1817 J. M. Good Physiol. Syst. Nosol. 26 [Cardialgia] syncopalis. The pain or uneasiness extending to the pit of the stomach, with anxiety, nausea, coldness of the extremities, failure of strength, and great tendency to faint... Sinking Heart-burn.

1834 J. Chitty Pract. Treat. Med. Jurispr. vi. 184 The cardiac is liable to the disorder cardialgy,..of three varieties, called heart-burn, sinking heart-burn, and spuration or black water.

sinking-in n. (a) caving in, falling inwards; (b) Painting the process by which pigments in an oil painting sink into or become absorbed by the ground; (c) deterioration, reduction; (d) the process of registering something in the mind.

ΘΚΠ

the world > movement > motion in a certain direction > downward motion > [noun] > sinking down

settlingc1440

sinking1440

declining1601

subsiding1607

subsidency1650

sedation1661

sinking-in1678

subsidence1754

sinkage1783

settlement1793

1678 Extract Jrnls. Two Several Voy. 21 July in Philos. Trans. (Royal Soc.) (1695) 19 131 We were troubled with Rat-holes in great numbers, like Coney-boroughs, which by the sinking in of the Earth, very much incommoded our Horses and Mules.

1753 Chambers's Cycl. Suppl. Absorptions of the Earth, a term used by Kircher and others, for the sinking in of large tracts of land, by means of subterranean commotions.

1758 R. Dossie Handmaid to Arts I. i. vi. 202 The sinking in of the colours..is attended with several inconveniences.

1937 W. B. Yeats Vision 178 A sinking-in of the body upon its supersensual life.

1939 H. Hubbard Materia Pictoria 231 The chief causes of sinking-in are: (A) The porousness of the Painting-ground or Priming [etc.].

2001 J. Porter To be Indian i. 23 These were the years of the sinking in of ideas.

sinking speed n. (a) the rate at which a mine shaft is excavated (now rare); (b) the speed with which a body sinks or is sinking; esp. the rate at which a glider loses altitude during flight.

ΘΚΠ

the world > movement > motion in a certain direction > downward motion > [noun] > downward component of gliding

sinking speed1860

society > travel > air or space travel > action of flying (in) aircraft > navigation of course of aircraft > [noun] > speed

sinking speed1860

air speed1909

land-speed1910

landing speed1911

flying speed1917

1860 F. Copcutt Leaves from Bachelor's Bk. Life 115 The pumping with hand-pumps was as a drop in the ocean. But the loss of the deck-load had sensibly decreased our sinking speed.

1914 Compressed Air Mag. Jan. 7076/1 The delays necessary in lowering and hoisting equipment, setting columns and mounting drills were considerable, and seriously affected the average sinking speed.

1923 tr. L. Prandtl Lessons of 1922 Rhön Soaring Flights (U.S. National Advisory Comm. Aeronautics: Techn. Memorandum No. 186) 1 It is a matter of common knowledge that soaring flight requires a glider with a low sinking speed, in order to obtain the utmost advantage from even small vertical wind velocities.

1996 T. Shi et al. in T. S. Golosinski & G. Yuguang Mining Sci. & Technol. 283/2 The classification of shaft depth will affect areas such as investment control in shaft projects..and the increase of sinking speed.

2003 R. M. Alexander Princ. Animal Locomotion (2006) x. 195 The sinking speeds shown are the minimum observed sinking speed for each airspeed.

sinking spell n. U.S. regional a sudden episode of dizziness, palpitations, weakness, etc.; a fainting fit or dizzy spell, a ‘turn’.

ΚΠ

1832 Ariel 31 Mar. 400/1 Multitudes were hurried to their graves before life was extinct, the half-savage attendants willingly mistaking a sinking spell for death.

1960 H. Lee To kill Mockingbird ix. 83 The beginning of last September had brought on sinking spells, dizziness, and mild gastric complaints.

2017 Denver Post (Nexis) 7 Oct. 1 a The foot wide trail on loose rock above sheer cliffs is disconcerting, requiring deliberate steps... ‘I had a little sinking spell heading up there for sure.’

This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2019; most recently modified version published online March 2022).

sinkingadj.

Brit.

/ˈsɪŋkɪŋ/, U.S.

/ˈsɪŋkɪŋ/

Forms: see sink v. and -ing suffix².

Origin: Formed within English, by derivation. Etymons: sink v., -ing suffix².

Etymology: < sink v. + -ing suffix².Earlier currency is perhaps implied by the following attestation of the present participle in Old English (with reference to types of food in a medical context), which should perhaps be interpreted as a postmodifying adjective in the sense ‘laxative’:eOE Bald's Leechbk. (Royal) (1865) ii. xxv. 218 Gif þæt sie omihte wæte innan onburnenu, tyhte hie mon ut mid liþum mettum sincendum & ne læt inne gesittan on þam lichoman.

a. Of ground: soft and yielding when trodden upon; boggy. Also in figurative context.Recorded earliest in sinking sand n. at Compounds.

ΘΚΠ

the world > the earth > land > ground > [adjective] > soft or spongy

softc1175

sinking1531

spongy1652

wood-sear1670

wood-searya1722

1531 J. Bellenden tr. H. Boece Chron. Scotl. (1938) I. i. ix. 47 This land of Annandaill has ane strait enteres, and circulit on euery syde othir with seyis, mossis, or synkand sandis.

1637 S. Rutherford Let. 23 Sept. (1894) 225 My short legs could not step over this lair, or sinking mire; and therefore my Lord Jesus will bear me through.

1773 J. Maxwell New Version Bk. of Psalms lxix. 165 My feet stick deep in sinking mud, While waters o'er' me roll.

1810 Western Isle 59 Thou cursed cow, let some kind dog Chase you, e'er long, into a bog, A sinking bog where you may lie Long time in pain before you die.

1930 F. A. Mackenzie Russian Crucifixion ix. 73 These wagons were on the soft, sinking soil. It was impossible to drag them. We put planks down to wheel them over.

2006 T. Fort Under Weather viii. 152 ‘Danger—Sinking Mud’ warned the yellow signs placed where the brown sand, wet from the night's rain, gave way to the wet ooze.

b. Of paper: absorbent so as to allow ink to spread. Also in figurative context. Now rare.

ΘΚΠ

society > communication > writing > writing materials > material to write on > paper > [adjective] > other types of paper

sinking1575

whitey-brown1786

metallic1799

gilt-edge1807

legal1815

tindery1886

squared1887

Silurian1892

stamped1907

1575 Edinb. Test. III. f. 319^v in Dict. Older Sc. Tongue at Sinkand Sex quaris of sinkand paper.

1585 J. Higgins tr. Junius Nomenclator 5/2 Papier qui passe, blotting or sinking paper.

1638 F. Junius Painting of Ancients 273 A writer purposing to write well,..doth sometimes come short of his intent, if he meeteth with sinking and blotting paper.

1662 W. Gurnall Christian in Armour: 3rd Pt. 424 By thy religious duties thou settest a fair copie, O do not write it in sinking paper.

1747 G. Edwards Nat. Hist. Birds II. 120 You must take a Paper that will bear Ink very well for this Use, for a sinking Paper will separate with the Wet, and spoil all.

1772 Gentleman's Mag. 42 192 Will any paper match him?—Yes, throughout He's a true Sinking Paper, past all doubt.

2011 PMLA 126 342/1 NAEL's [sc. the Norton Anthology of English Literature] paper, like sinking paper, ‘bleeds profusely’ when annotated with nonballpoint pens.

a. Chiefly literary and poetic. That sinks, subsides, or drops downwards; that drops out of sight. Also in figurative context.

ΘΚΠ

the world > physical sensation > sight and vision > invisibility > [adjective] > vanishing or disappearing > below horizon

sinking1560

the world > movement > motion in a certain direction > downward motion > [adjective] > sinking down > in liquid

sinking1560

the world > movement > motion in a certain direction > downward motion > [adjective] > sinking down

subsiding1646

sinking1748

1560 Medit. Penitent Sinner sig. Aa3^v in A. L. tr. J. Calvin Serm. Songe Ezechias My many sinnes in nomber are encreast, With weight wherof in sea of depe despeire My sinking soule is now so sore opprest, That now in peril and in present fere, I crye.

1576 W. Lambarde Perambulation of Kent 288 This sinking graue, was nothing els, but a false filled pitte, of Maister Clearks owne digging.

1632 G. Sandys tr. Ovid Metamorphosis (new ed.) 314 Now borne on crushing rocks, the floods or'e-beare My sinking bark; nor can I back-ward steere.

1676 J. Dryden Aureng-Zebe i. 8 As Seas and Winds to sinking Mariners.

1709 M. Prior Poems Several Occasions 91 Another Nymph with fatal Pow'r may rise, To damp the sinking Beams of Celia's Eyes.

1725 A. Pope tr. Homer Odyssey III. xiii. 95 At once they bend,..And leave the sinking hills, and less'ning shores.

1748 J. Hervey Medit. among Tombs in Medit. & Contempl. (ed. 4) I. 41 Her Hands..sometimes, staying the sinking Head on her gentle Arms.

1817 P. B. Shelley Laon & Cythna i. vi. 4 Like a great ship in the sun's sinking sphere Beheld afar at sea.

1863 Ld. Lytton Ring of Amasis I. i. iv. 50 He is within but a few arm-lengths of the sinking child.

1929 J. W. Gregory Earthquakes & Volcanoes i. ix. 43 The continental borders are often lines of weakness and instability, because they separate the sinking ocean floor from the upstanding land masses.

1988 B. A. Mason Spence & Lila (1989) xix. 146 In the refrigerator, tan beads of glistening moisture dot the sinking meringue of the coconut pie.

2014 Radio Times 26 Apr. (South/West ed.) 102/2 A mayday call involving a sinking ship.

b. figurative. Lapsing into ruin or decline; failing.

ΘΚΠ

the world > action or operation > adversity > [adjective] > falling from prosperous or thriving condition

drooping1553

downhill1565

downfalling1573

declining1597

stooping1608

sinking1612

waninga1616

deliquescent1937

1612 S. Daniel First Pt. Hist. Eng. i. 23 He bare vp the sinking State of his countrie.

1693 W. Bowles tr. Juvenal in J. Dryden et al. tr. Juvenal Satires v. 79 No Man expects..what Piso us'd to send, To raise, or to support a sinking Friend.

1703 N. Rowe Ulysses iii. i Save the sinking House of thy Ulysses.

1781 E. Gibbon Decline & Fall III. xxvii. 67 Amidst the misfortunes and terrors of a sinking nation.

1819 W. Scott Bride of Lammermoor ii, in Tales of my Landlord 3rd Ser. I. 39 In the civil war of 1689, he had espoused the sinking side.

1890 Jrnl. Indian Art 3 28 If one or two fashionable ladies of Madras would make their dresses from the Kuttalam silk cloth..the sinking trade would at once revive.

1987 Resurgence Nov. 10/2 Mr. Gorbachev has already brought in a new team of reformers to revive the sinking Soviet economy.

2016 Economist 24 Dec. 78/1 He and his popular boss, Joko Widodo, had promised a bold programme of urban renewal to save the creaky, sinking and car-clogged metropolis.

c. Of the heart, spirits, etc.: drooping, flagging; succumbing to hopelessness or despair.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > emotion > suffering > dejection > [adjective] > becoming

sinkinga1618

saddinga1839

a1618 J. Sylvester tr. G. Fracastoro Maidens Blush (1620) sig. C8^v With these her Words Iempsar, part re-cheard, Her sinking heart againe a little rear'd.

1694 J. Crowne Regulus iii. 30 So now my sinking heart is rais'd again.

1781 W. Hayley Triumphs of Temper ii. 43 To this short hope her sinking spirit clung.

1838 A. Jameson Winter Stud. & Summer Rambles in Canada II. 232 The first view of the beautiful town of Chatham made my sinking spirits bound like the sight of a friend.

1879 J. A. Froude Cæsar xiv. 212 [They] cowered in their tents with sinking hearts,..and composed last messages for their friends.

1934 B. Aronin Lost Tribe vii. 83 The trinket seemed sacred to me and it was with a sinking spirit that I contemplated the yielding of it.

2007 C. Stross Halting State (2008) 257 He's trying to be helpful, you realize with a sinking heart.

Compounds

† sinking-chain n. Obsolete rare part of the apparatus of a pit-shaft boring-rod.

ΘΚΠ

society > occupation and work > equipment > piercing or boring tools > [noun] > boring tool > for boring in the ground > equipment for use with

sinking-chain1820

runner1839

rotary table1845

wad hook1881

socket1883

spreadera1884

whipstock1903

1820 Edinb. Encycl. (1830) XIV. 374/1 The beam centered at c, having an arc head and martingale sinking-chain.

sinking fire n. U.S. (now rare and historical) a charcoal-fired cold-blast furnace, typically used to remelt pig iron and scrap iron.

ΚΠ

1869 R. S. Stenton U.S. Patent 88,524 1/1 Cast-steel, the product of malleable iron, made in a sinking-fire, avoids the smelting process.

1946 Monthly Bull. (Pennsylvania Dept. Internal Affairs) Jan. 30 The Freedom Forge, using cold blast charcoal pig iron, worked in a ‘sinking fire’ or Catalan Forge, produced some of the best wrought iron in the country.

sinking jar n. now rare a container used to determine the specific gravity of wort and wash during the brewing and distilling processes, consisting of a tin container weighed down with lead which is allowed to sink to a particular depth and then unsealed by means of a cord attached to a cork.Sinking jars were typically used by excise officers to determine how much excise should be charged on a particular batch of spirits.

ΚΠ

1831 Rep. Select Comm. Use of Molasses 189 in Parl. Papers (H.C. 297) VII. 109 The officer draws his sample with a sinking jar, and it is probably six inches high.

1837 Penny Cycl. IX. 24/2 After due agitation of the wash three samples should be taken by the dipping cylinder, or sinking-jar.

1973 E. B. McGuire Irish Whiskey vii. 237 They were directed to use sinking jars. This is a corked can lowered to the bottom and the cork is then jerked out by a string.

† sinking lead n. Obsolete a weight (originally made of lead) used with a sounding line; a sounding lead.

ΘΚΠ

society > travel > travel by water > vessel, ship, or boat > equipment of vessel > navigational aids > [noun] > sounding-line or -rod > weight on sounding-line

plummetc1384

leadc1440

sounding-lead1485

sinking lead1648

blue pigeon1818

1648 H. Hexham Groot Woorden-boeck Een Zinck-loot, a Sinking-lead or Plummet to sound the depth of water.

1849 J. Leifchild & J. R. Leifchild Christian Emigrant i. 45 In places where the true bottom has been carefully sounded, it has been found to consist of gravel, mud, or organized bodies belonging to the lower classes of the animal kingdom, which have adhered to the sinking lead.

sinking lid n. New Zealand a policy of lowering staff numbers by not replacing workers who resign or retire, typically in public services. Recorded earliest in attributive use.

ΚΠ

1979 Rep. Year ended March 1979 (N.Z. Dept. Justice) 3 Staff..take up..heavier work loads resulting from..the effect of the ‘sinking lid’ formula on staff ceilings.

1985 Jrnl. Public Policy 5 39 In New Zealand, departments have been directed to shed 1.5 per cent of their staff annually by attrition or transfer... This mechanism is known as the ‘sinking lid’.

2007 N.Z. Business May 14/1 Put a sinking lid on staff numbers.

sinking sand n. a bed of quicksand.

ΘΚΠ

the world > the earth > land > landscape > marsh, bog, or swamp > [noun] > quicksand

quick gravela1300

quicksanda1300

sucking sand1513

Syrtis1526

sinking sand1531

syrt1574

Serbonian boga1618

flow1819

1531 J. Bellenden tr. H. Boece Chron. Scotl. (1938) I. i. ix. 47 This land of Annandaill has ane strait enteres, and circulit on euery syde othir with seyis, mossis, or synkand sandis.

a1600 ( W. Stewart tr. H. Boece Bk. Cron. Scotl. (1858) III. l. 47343 Thair schippis..drevin vpoun the land, Quhair tha war ebbit on ane sinkand sand.

a1616 W. Shakespeare Henry VI, Pt. 2 (1623) iii. ii. 97 The splitting Rockes cowr'd in the sinking sands .

1809 W. F. Mavor Brit. Tourist's Pocket Compan. (ed. 3) VI. 288 As they..must be approached over a sinking sand, their use is confined to those who study frugality rather than comfort.

1956 A. Wilson Anglo-Saxon Attitudes (1958) 334 The affaire with Elvira made me realize what a sinking sand I've lived on.

2012 U. C. Oshai Bumps of Life v. 84 The more he struggled to get out of the sinking sand, the deeper he sank.

sinking stage n. Theatre (now historical and rare) a part of the stage constructed to sink and rise below stage level by means of machinery; (also) the area beneath the stage hollowed out for this purpose; = sink n.¹ 15.

ΘΚΠ

society > leisure > the arts > performance arts > the theatre or the stage > a theatre > stage > [noun] > sink and rise part

sink1840

sinking stage1841

1841 Civil Engineer & Architect's Jrnl. 4 430/1 The stage,..including a considerable portion formed to rise or fall by suitable machinery, and called the sinking stage.

2008 G. Law & A. Maunder Wilkie Collins vii. 102 Any part of the stage could be removed so that a chasm could be represented and the Adelphi was famous for its ‘sinking stage’.

This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2019; most recently modified version published online March 2022).

单词	sinking
释义	sinkingn. Brit. /ˈsɪŋkɪŋ/, U.S. /ˈsɪŋkɪŋ/ Forms: see sink v. and -ing suffix¹. Origin: Formed within English, by derivation. Etymons: sink v., -ing suffix¹. Etymology: < sink v. + -ing suffix¹. 1. Downward movement, esp. of a vessel to the bottom of the sea, a lake, etc.; subsidence, lowering; an instance of this. ΘΚΠ the world > movement > motion in a certain direction > downward motion > [noun] > sinking down settlingc1440 sinking1440 declining1601 subsiding1607 subsidency1650 sedation1661 sinking-in1678 subsidence1754 sinkage1783 settlement1793 society > travel > travel by water > shipwreck > [noun] > sinking sinking1440 drowning1539 the world > movement > motion in a certain direction > downward motion > [noun] > sinking down > sinking or submerging in liquid submersion?a1425 sinking1440 demersion1692 submerging1704 submergement1808 Promptorium Parvulorum (Harl. 221) 78 Cynkynge, dimersio, submercio. a1500 Anc. Sc. Prophecy in Bernardus de Cura Rei Famuliaris 33 Þe barge of bariona [sall] bowne to the senkyne. 1565 T. Cooper Thesaurus Sedimentum, a sinkyng downe to the botome. 1586 R. Lane in R. Hakluyt Princ. Navigations (1589) 741 There was no possibility of passage without sinking of our boates. 1630 Order in R. Griffiths Ess. Jurisdict. Thames (1746) 74 No Trinck shall stand to fish..at the rising or sinking of any Mother-Fishes. 1662 B. Gerbier Brief Disc. Princ. Building 19 To prevent the sinking and bending of their Walls. 1765 S. Foote Commissary ii. 27 One, two, three, ha. There are risings and sinkings [of the body in dancing]. 1799 Med. & Physical Jrnl. 2 460 The alternate swelling and sinking of the brain, during inspiration and expiration. 1837 P. Keith Bot. Lexicon 348 The sinking of the one knob and the swimming of the other. 1841 C. Lyell Elements Geol. (ed. 2) II. xxxiii. 359 The rising or sinking of the earth's crust, operations by which sea is converted into land, and land into sea, are a part only of the consequences of subterranean igneous action. 1895 Outing 27 203/1 Bend the knees quickly and fall soft—a sinking down is better for the flesh than a downright tumble. 1957 G. E. Hutchinson Treat. Limnol. I. v. 270 With an offshore wind, coastal upsetting will occur; with an onshore wind, coastal sinking. 2006 Up Here (Yellowknife, N.W. Territories) Jan. 53/3 Hitting overflow may give the sensation of sinking, but don't panic—there is solid ice below. 2. a. The action of sinking something (in various senses of sink v.); an instance of this. ΘΚΠ the world > movement > motion in a certain direction > downward motion > causing to come or go down > [noun] > causing to sink sinking1503 society > travel > travel by water > shipwreck > [noun] > sinking > causing sinking sinking1503 the world > action or operation > completing > non-completion > [noun] > giving up an enterprise sinking1705 dropping1813 society > trade and finance > financial dealings > types of money-dealing > [noun] > investment improvement1549 investiture1757 investing1766 investment1774 sinking1890 1503 T. Lewington tr. Art of Good Lywyng & Good Deyng sig. niij/1 The nyght of the synkyng of the .v. cytes. 1558 in J. B. Paul Accts. Treasurer Scotl. (1913) X. 438 For sinking and graving of ane double falcone berand the Quenis grace [armis]. 1605 W. Camden Remaines ii. 38 His conquering of Cyprus, the sinkinge of the great Galliasse of the Saracens. 1683 J. Moxon Mech. Exercises II. 129 When I come to the sinking and justifying of Matrices. 1705 J. Blair in W. S. Perry Hist. Coll. Amer. Colonial Church: Virginia (1870) I. 150 Some proposing the cancelling of the said Aspersions, other[s], the sinking of the whole paper. 1827 New Monthly Mag. 21 132/1 The Brass Coin is one of the Medals struck in commemoration of the sinking of the Spanish galleons in Vigo Bay by the combined fleet of England and Holland in 1702. 1890 W. J. Gordon Foundry 223 Though rotary presses at £7,000 apiece require a somewhat alarming sinking of capital. 1939 W. S. Churchill Into Battle (1941) 132 We have captured..more German merchandise..than we have lost by all the U-boat sinkings put together. 1997 M. Mayo VideoHound's Video Premieres 182/2 At no point in this one do you care about the sinking of a putt or the winning of a match. Instead, it's about characters. b. spec. The action or act of boring or excavating downwards in search of coal or ore; (also) the pit or shaft thus formed. ΘΚΠ society > occupation and work > industry > mining > [noun] > excavating or sinking of shaft sinking1613 raising-pair1747 stoping1778 sumping1824 drifting1853 shafting1872 society > occupation and work > workplace > places where raw materials are extracted > mine > [noun] > shaft groovea1400 shaft1433 sink1557 mine pit1587 sinking1613 footway1778 shank1790 mine shaft1818 1613 J. Rovenzon Treat. Metallica sig. B4 Quicke sinking of pits. 1694 T. Houghton Royal Inst. Postscript 97 They [sc. the Spaniards] Gathered much Gold, without the Experience of Digging, Mining, and Sinking of Shafts, to seek for Veyns and Rakes. 1747 W. Hooson Miners Dict. sig. Sij The Vein becomes hard and streat,..and endures so many Yards in Sinking, and then at last breaks over again, and the Ore proves to be as good and stronge as..before; these Levells are called Sets, as the first is the Top-Set, the second which is found out by Sinking through the Deadness, is called the Under-Set. 1839 R. I. Murchison Silurian Syst. i. ii. 22 I..learned that sinkings in search of coal had been prosecuted..in the district. 1922 Coal Age 12 Oct. 614/2 Prices named by Springfield operators and dealers will determine whether or not the City is to proceed further with its plan for the sinking of a municipal coal shaft. 2013 Minerals Yearbk. 2011 (U.S. Dept. Interior) III. 5.2 The sinking of a 795-meter (m) shaft to access the mine's Offset Zone continued in 2011 and was expected to be completed in late 2012. 3. a. Reduction or loss of strength (of the body or a part or function of the body); an instance of this; esp. an episode of fainting or a feeling of faintness. Also: a (reported) feeling of weakness, discomfort, or hollowness, esp. in the region of the heart or stomach, regarded as a symptom of physical disease.Now only in sinking spell n. at Compounds 2. Cf. sinking feeling n. at Compounds 1. ΘΚΠ the world > health and disease > ill health > [noun] > weakening or decline in health failinga1382 sickeninga1382 wasting1398 downhielda1400 dissolutionc1400 debilitationa1492 defailing1502 effeeblishing1540 faintingc1540 effeeblishment1545 enervationa1575 feeblishing1574 declining1588 decay1609 flagging1611 labefaction1620 feebling1624 sinking1625 deading1645 dejection1652 fail1654 emperiment1674 decline1770 sapping1825 breakdown1858 attenuation1868 the world > physical sensation > sleeping and waking > weariness or exhaustion > [noun] > becoming swooningc1290 languishingc1384 droopingc1400 fainting1601 flagging1611 sinking1625 jading1641 collapsing1855 crocking1928 1625 S. Bradwell Watch-man for Pest 50 The Signes of the Plague (therefore) are commonly these. First, a secret sinking of the Spirits and Powers of Nature, with a painfull wearinesse of the bones, and all without any manifest cause. 1697 W. Cockburn Contin. Acct. Nature Distempers Seafaring People 15 They..can never bear so large a bleeding..and very seldom can endure the loss of ten or twelve ounces of blood without a sinking in their heart (as they call it). 1730 N. Bailey et al. Dictionarium Britannicum at Arythmos A Sinking and Failure of the Pulse, so as it can be no longer felt. a1776 R. James Vindic. Fever Powder in Diss. Fevers (1778) 125 That kind of sensation which patients describe by a sinking, a sort of laziness in taking the air into the lungs, or difficulty of respiration, unaccountable terrors on very slight occasions, [etc.]. 1813 J. Thomson Lect. Inflammation 169 We may, by too free a detraction of blood, produce a sudden sinking of the powers of life. 1843 R. J. Graves Syst. Clin. Med. ix. 101 Coldness of the extremities and sinking of the pulse. 1911 C. Allbutt in J. H. Musser & A. O. J. Kelly Handbk. Pract. Treatm. II. 126 Not quite in the same class, however, are the patients who complain of sinkings at the heart, or even as if the organ had vanished out of the body. b. A lowering or drooping of the spirits; dejection. ΘΚΠ the mind > emotion > suffering > dejection > [noun] > action of becoming dejected moping1638 sinking1653 desponding1818 peak and pine1868 1653 H. More Let. 2 June in Conway Lett. (1992) ii. 82 I am troubled with a..sinking of spirits. 1663 J. Spencer Disc. Prodigies v. 81 Those horrours and sinkings [1665 sinking] of spirit in bad men. 1725 W. Cuninghame Let. Oct. in M. A. Forbes Curiosities Sc. Charta Chest (1897) iv. 79 Your mother is now and then made uneasy by the sinking of the spirits. 1829 W. Scott Let. 30 Jan. (1936) XI. 118 Johnson, however indulgent to his own sinkings of the spirits, had little tolerance for those of his imitator. 1888 Times (Weekly ed.) 23 Jan. 13/2 I felt a sinking at my heart, lest..I should find myself unable to go any further. 1940 D. Curran Piano in Band i. 13 He felt a sinking inside him at thought of another tour—the dreary hotels, the night trains, the lost lonely feel of strange theatres. 2005 Guardian 11 Feb. i. 28/2 What is the good republican to make of this impending royal nuptial? Oh, that deep sinking of the heart. 4. gen. Deterioration, reduction, falling away; an instance of this. ΚΠ 1701 R. Cocks Diary 2 May in Parl. Diary (1996) 107 Upon the debate we allowed to have one shillings of the three on land..appropriated for the sinking of exchecquer bills. 1718 T. Hearne Remarks & Coll. (1902) VI. 126 This sinking of the value of Money creates abundance of Murmuring. 1727 A. Pope (title) Peri Bathous: or, Martinus Scriblerus his Treatise of the Art of Sinking in Poetry. 1741 S. Richardson Pamela (ed. 2) I. Introd. p. xxvi These are wonderful Sinkings from Purpose. 1813 M. Berry Let. 21 Feb. (1865) II. 530 The nymph Florina, whom he was expecting to arrive..to his longing arms by the waggon on Saturday (what a sinking in poetry!) is not yet come. a1851 D. M. Moir Poet. Wks. (1852) II. 11 In his soarings he was Heavenly, In his sinkings he was man. 1897 Daily News 18 June 4/3 The sinking of the prices paid in the London markets. 1999 Writing Ulster No. 6. 19 The sinking of his establishment to the level of a mere palais de danse. 5. A depression; an excised recess or hollow. Also: the extent of such a depression. ΘΚΠ the world > space > shape > unevenness > condition or fact of receding > [noun] > action of making indentation > an indentation on a surface hollowc897 printa1387 impression1398 puncha1430 dent1565 dint1590 dinge1611 doke1615 impressurea1616 depressure1626 depression1665 dawk1678 swage1680 indent1690 sinking1712 dunkle1788 indenture1793 delve1811 subsidation1838 indention1839 recess1839 indentation1847 incavation1852 deepening1859 sink1875 malleation1881 ding1922 1712 J. James tr. A.-J. Dézallier d'Argenville Theory & Pract. Gardening 27 Niches cut for Figures, and two Sinkings for Shells and Buffets of Water. 1712 J. James tr. A.-J. Dézallier d'Argenville Theory & Pract. Gardening 137 The Depth or Sinking you would give the Bowling-green. 1797 T. Holcroft tr. F. L. Stolberg Trav. II. xxxviii. 27 The sinking under the stage is of a great depth. 1825 ‘J. Nicholson’ Operative Mechanic 615 A beech mould is next made..of the profile of the intended cornice,..with the quirks, or small sinkings, of brass or copper. 1863 Archaeologia Cantiana 5 16 One piece with chamfered sinkings, probably a piece of Norman moulding. 1879 Cassell's Techn. Educator (1894) III. 176/2 A dovetail sinking is cut on the upper surface of the stones at the ends. 1910 A. B. Pite et al. Building Constr. viii. 208 This is a tool recently introduced for cutting mouldings, small sinkings, etc., in granite. 1983 J. S. Foster Struct. & Fabric (rev. ed.) I. iii. 122/1 The Y-shaped cavity resulting from the V-shaped sinkings in adjacent stones. 6. Painting. The process by which pigments in an oil painting sink into or become absorbed by the ground; an instance of this; = sinking-in n. (b) at Compounds 2. Also: a dull matt spot on the surface of an oil painting caused by this absorption. ΘΚΠ society > leisure > the arts > visual arts > painting and drawing > condition or preservation of paintings > [noun] > sinking sinking1915 1915 P. Young tr. J. G. Vibert Sci. Painting ix. 118 Where, in the execution of a picture on account of repeated re-touching, embus or sinkings appear, it is possible..to make them disappear with a light scumbling of re-touching varnish. 1951 R. Mayer Artist's Handbk. (new ed.) xii. 433 Embu, (French), in an oil painting, a dull spot in an otherwise glossy surface, caused by a sinking-in of the oil color. 1971 B. Dorf Beginner's Guide to Painting in Oils xiii. 158 Sinking, dull patches in oil paint, caused by too absorbent ground, wrong medium, or too much dilutant. 1991 Artist Nov. 33/2 To prevent ‘sinking’ in the dark background and drapes linseed oil diluted with turpentine is applied at the end of the painting and the permanent varnish applied a year or two later. Phrases sinking and drawing n. Angling a method of angling in which the bait is allowed to sink and then gently drawn up again; an example of this. Cf. sink and draw at sink v. Phrases 3. ΘΚΠ the world > food and drink > hunting > fishing > type or method of fishing > [noun] > angling > using other methods drabble1799 sinking and drawing1838 spinning1855 skittering1883 1838 W. Shipley True Treat. Art Fly-fishing x. 201 This mode of fishing is called sinking and drawing. We have seen it practised with as much success as maggot-fishing..the method being most successful in deep holes, where the bottom was not visible. 1856 ‘Stonehenge’ Man. Brit. Rural Sports i. v. iii. 251/2 Chub-Fishing... Sinking and drawing is therefore practised, because by this mode the line is not so likely to be entangled. 1905 National Rev. Nov. 512 The most deadly way of taking huchen is by the method known as ‘sinking and drawing,’ with a flight of hooks baited with a bunch of sandeels, lampreys, or lobworms. 1939 Gloucester Jrnl. 15 Apr. 5/4 Another angler asks: ‘Is sinking and drawing any good for trout?’ Yes, it is, but you can use a small worm instead of a maggot and fly. Compounds C1. sinking feeling n. an unpleasant bodily sensation caused by hunger or (now esp.) the apprehension that something unpleasant or undesirable is about to happen. ΘΚΠ the mind > emotion > fear > physical symptoms of fear > [noun] > sinking feeling sinking feeling1890 the world > food and drink > food > consumption of food or drink > appetite > hunger > [noun] hungerc825 appetite1303 famec1515 sharpness1581 suction1615 meat-will1643 sucking1656 sharpsetness1673 esurition1678 stomach-worm1788 hunger-pain1820 yird-hunger1825 appetizement1826 yapness1828 esuriencea1834 peckishness1871 sinking feeling1890 1798 Gentleman's Mag. June 479/2 On going to-bed, I had the same sinking sensation, and soon after was attacked with a violent burning pain and contraction of the stomach.] 1890 H. G. Hutchinson in H. G. Hutchinson et al. Golf (Badminton Libr. of Sports & Pastimes) ix. 246 The nerves and muscles must be fed for the work before them; otherwise there will ensue a dreadful sinking feeling before the end of the round. 1920 C. A. W. Monckton Some Exper. New Guinea Resident Magistr. xxv. 302 ‘Do you feel devilish hungry half an hour before meals?’..‘Yes,..sometimes so hungry that I have a sinking feeling.’ 1937 Discovery Oct. 295/1 The slight sinking feeling experienced by pedestrian members.., when faced by the considerable uphill trudge. 1979 L. Meyer False Front xiii. 108 I got that nasty sinking feeling again. We..couldn't get the story into the paper. 2004 Radio Times 5 June (Midlands ed.) 106/2 Just like you, we get a horrible sinking feeling at the prospect of yet another reality-cum-search-for-a-star show. C2. † sinking heart-burn n. Obsolete rare pain in the chest accompanied by a tendency to faint. ΚΠ 1817 J. M. Good Physiol. Syst. Nosol. 26 [Cardialgia] syncopalis. The pain or uneasiness extending to the pit of the stomach, with anxiety, nausea, coldness of the extremities, failure of strength, and great tendency to faint... Sinking Heart-burn. 1834 J. Chitty Pract. Treat. Med. Jurispr. vi. 184 The cardiac is liable to the disorder cardialgy,..of three varieties, called heart-burn, sinking heart-burn, and spuration or black water. sinking-in n. (a) caving in, falling inwards; (b) Painting the process by which pigments in an oil painting sink into or become absorbed by the ground; (c) deterioration, reduction; (d) the process of registering something in the mind. ΘΚΠ the world > movement > motion in a certain direction > downward motion > [noun] > sinking down settlingc1440 sinking1440 declining1601 subsiding1607 subsidency1650 sedation1661 sinking-in1678 subsidence1754 sinkage1783 settlement1793 1678 Extract Jrnls. Two Several Voy. 21 July in Philos. Trans. (Royal Soc.) (1695) 19 131 We were troubled with Rat-holes in great numbers, like Coney-boroughs, which by the sinking in of the Earth, very much incommoded our Horses and Mules. 1753 Chambers's Cycl. Suppl. Absorptions of the Earth, a term used by Kircher and others, for the sinking in of large tracts of land, by means of subterranean commotions. 1758 R. Dossie Handmaid to Arts I. i. vi. 202 The sinking in of the colours..is attended with several inconveniences. 1937 W. B. Yeats Vision 178 A sinking-in of the body upon its supersensual life. 1939 H. Hubbard Materia Pictoria 231 The chief causes of sinking-in are: (A) The porousness of the Painting-ground or Priming [etc.]. 2001 J. Porter To be Indian i. 23 These were the years of the sinking in of ideas. sinking speed n. (a) the rate at which a mine shaft is excavated (now rare); (b) the speed with which a body sinks or is sinking; esp. the rate at which a glider loses altitude during flight. ΘΚΠ the world > movement > motion in a certain direction > downward motion > [noun] > downward component of gliding sinking speed1860 society > travel > air or space travel > action of flying (in) aircraft > navigation of course of aircraft > [noun] > speed sinking speed1860 air speed1909 land-speed1910 landing speed1911 flying speed1917 1860 F. Copcutt Leaves from Bachelor's Bk. Life 115 The pumping with hand-pumps was as a drop in the ocean. But the loss of the deck-load had sensibly decreased our sinking speed. 1914 Compressed Air Mag. Jan. 7076/1 The delays necessary in lowering and hoisting equipment, setting columns and mounting drills were considerable, and seriously affected the average sinking speed. 1923 tr. L. Prandtl Lessons of 1922 Rhön Soaring Flights (U.S. National Advisory Comm. Aeronautics: Techn. Memorandum No. 186) 1 It is a matter of common knowledge that soaring flight requires a glider with a low sinking speed, in order to obtain the utmost advantage from even small vertical wind velocities. 1996 T. Shi et al. in T. S. Golosinski & G. Yuguang Mining Sci. & Technol. 283/2 The classification of shaft depth will affect areas such as investment control in shaft projects..and the increase of sinking speed. 2003 R. M. Alexander Princ. Animal Locomotion (2006) x. 195 The sinking speeds shown are the minimum observed sinking speed for each airspeed. sinking spell n. U.S. regional a sudden episode of dizziness, palpitations, weakness, etc.; a fainting fit or dizzy spell, a ‘turn’. ΚΠ 1832 Ariel 31 Mar. 400/1 Multitudes were hurried to their graves before life was extinct, the half-savage attendants willingly mistaking a sinking spell for death. 1960 H. Lee To kill Mockingbird ix. 83 The beginning of last September had brought on sinking spells, dizziness, and mild gastric complaints. 2017 Denver Post (Nexis) 7 Oct. 1 a The foot wide trail on loose rock above sheer cliffs is disconcerting, requiring deliberate steps... ‘I had a little sinking spell heading up there for sure.’ This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2019; most recently modified version published online March 2022). sinkingadj. Brit. /ˈsɪŋkɪŋ/, U.S. /ˈsɪŋkɪŋ/ Forms: see sink v. and -ing suffix². Origin: Formed within English, by derivation. Etymons: sink v., -ing suffix². Etymology: < sink v. + -ing suffix².Earlier currency is perhaps implied by the following attestation of the present participle in Old English (with reference to types of food in a medical context), which should perhaps be interpreted as a postmodifying adjective in the sense ‘laxative’:eOE Bald's Leechbk. (Royal) (1865) ii. xxv. 218 Gif þæt sie omihte wæte innan onburnenu, tyhte hie mon ut mid liþum mettum sincendum & ne læt inne gesittan on þam lichoman. 1. a. Of ground: soft and yielding when trodden upon; boggy. Also in figurative context.Recorded earliest in sinking sand n. at Compounds. ΘΚΠ the world > the earth > land > ground > [adjective] > soft or spongy softc1175 sinking1531 spongy1652 wood-sear1670 wood-searya1722 1531 J. Bellenden tr. H. Boece Chron. Scotl. (1938) I. i. ix. 47 This land of Annandaill has ane strait enteres, and circulit on euery syde othir with seyis, mossis, or synkand sandis. 1637 S. Rutherford Let. 23 Sept. (1894) 225 My short legs could not step over this lair, or sinking mire; and therefore my Lord Jesus will bear me through. 1773 J. Maxwell New Version Bk. of Psalms lxix. 165 My feet stick deep in sinking mud, While waters o'er' me roll. 1810 Western Isle 59 Thou cursed cow, let some kind dog Chase you, e'er long, into a bog, A sinking bog where you may lie Long time in pain before you die. 1930 F. A. Mackenzie Russian Crucifixion ix. 73 These wagons were on the soft, sinking soil. It was impossible to drag them. We put planks down to wheel them over. 2006 T. Fort Under Weather viii. 152 ‘Danger—Sinking Mud’ warned the yellow signs placed where the brown sand, wet from the night's rain, gave way to the wet ooze. b. Of paper: absorbent so as to allow ink to spread. Also in figurative context. Now rare. ΘΚΠ society > communication > writing > writing materials > material to write on > paper > [adjective] > other types of paper sinking1575 whitey-brown1786 metallic1799 gilt-edge1807 legal1815 tindery1886 squared1887 Silurian1892 stamped1907 1575 Edinb. Test. III. f. 319^v in Dict. Older Sc. Tongue at Sinkand Sex quaris of sinkand paper. 1585 J. Higgins tr. Junius Nomenclator 5/2 Papier qui passe, blotting or sinking paper. 1638 F. Junius Painting of Ancients 273 A writer purposing to write well,..doth sometimes come short of his intent, if he meeteth with sinking and blotting paper. 1662 W. Gurnall Christian in Armour: 3rd Pt. 424 By thy religious duties thou settest a fair copie, O do not write it in sinking paper. 1747 G. Edwards Nat. Hist. Birds II. 120 You must take a Paper that will bear Ink very well for this Use, for a sinking Paper will separate with the Wet, and spoil all. 1772 Gentleman's Mag. 42 192 Will any paper match him?—Yes, throughout He's a true Sinking Paper, past all doubt. 2011 PMLA 126 342/1 NAEL's [sc. the Norton Anthology of English Literature] paper, like sinking paper, ‘bleeds profusely’ when annotated with nonballpoint pens. 2. a. Chiefly literary and poetic. That sinks, subsides, or drops downwards; that drops out of sight. Also in figurative context. ΘΚΠ the world > physical sensation > sight and vision > invisibility > [adjective] > vanishing or disappearing > below horizon sinking1560 the world > movement > motion in a certain direction > downward motion > [adjective] > sinking down > in liquid sinking1560 the world > movement > motion in a certain direction > downward motion > [adjective] > sinking down subsiding1646 sinking1748 1560 Medit. Penitent Sinner sig. Aa3^v in A. L. tr. J. Calvin Serm. Songe Ezechias My many sinnes in nomber are encreast, With weight wherof in sea of depe despeire My sinking soule is now so sore opprest, That now in peril and in present fere, I crye. 1576 W. Lambarde Perambulation of Kent 288 This sinking graue, was nothing els, but a false filled pitte, of Maister Clearks owne digging. 1632 G. Sandys tr. Ovid Metamorphosis (new ed.) 314 Now borne on crushing rocks, the floods or'e-beare My sinking bark; nor can I back-ward steere. 1676 J. Dryden Aureng-Zebe i. 8 As Seas and Winds to sinking Mariners. 1709 M. Prior Poems Several Occasions 91 Another Nymph with fatal Pow'r may rise, To damp the sinking Beams of Celia's Eyes. 1725 A. Pope tr. Homer Odyssey III. xiii. 95 At once they bend,..And leave the sinking hills, and less'ning shores. 1748 J. Hervey Medit. among Tombs in Medit. & Contempl. (ed. 4) I. 41 Her Hands..sometimes, staying the sinking Head on her gentle Arms. 1817 P. B. Shelley Laon & Cythna i. vi. 4 Like a great ship in the sun's sinking sphere Beheld afar at sea. 1863 Ld. Lytton Ring of Amasis I. i. iv. 50 He is within but a few arm-lengths of the sinking child. 1929 J. W. Gregory Earthquakes & Volcanoes i. ix. 43 The continental borders are often lines of weakness and instability, because they separate the sinking ocean floor from the upstanding land masses. 1988 B. A. Mason Spence & Lila (1989) xix. 146 In the refrigerator, tan beads of glistening moisture dot the sinking meringue of the coconut pie. 2014 Radio Times 26 Apr. (South/West ed.) 102/2 A mayday call involving a sinking ship. b. figurative. Lapsing into ruin or decline; failing. ΘΚΠ the world > action or operation > adversity > [adjective] > falling from prosperous or thriving condition drooping1553 downhill1565 downfalling1573 declining1597 stooping1608 sinking1612 waninga1616 deliquescent1937 1612 S. Daniel First Pt. Hist. Eng. i. 23 He bare vp the sinking State of his countrie. 1693 W. Bowles tr. Juvenal in J. Dryden et al. tr. Juvenal Satires v. 79 No Man expects..what Piso us'd to send, To raise, or to support a sinking Friend. 1703 N. Rowe Ulysses iii. i Save the sinking House of thy Ulysses. 1781 E. Gibbon Decline & Fall III. xxvii. 67 Amidst the misfortunes and terrors of a sinking nation. 1819 W. Scott Bride of Lammermoor ii, in Tales of my Landlord 3rd Ser. I. 39 In the civil war of 1689, he had espoused the sinking side. 1890 Jrnl. Indian Art 3 28 If one or two fashionable ladies of Madras would make their dresses from the Kuttalam silk cloth..the sinking trade would at once revive. 1987 Resurgence Nov. 10/2 Mr. Gorbachev has already brought in a new team of reformers to revive the sinking Soviet economy. 2016 Economist 24 Dec. 78/1 He and his popular boss, Joko Widodo, had promised a bold programme of urban renewal to save the creaky, sinking and car-clogged metropolis. c. Of the heart, spirits, etc.: drooping, flagging; succumbing to hopelessness or despair. ΘΚΠ the mind > emotion > suffering > dejection > [adjective] > becoming sinkinga1618 saddinga1839 a1618 J. Sylvester tr. G. Fracastoro Maidens Blush (1620) sig. C8^v With these her Words Iempsar, part re-cheard, Her sinking heart againe a little rear'd. 1694 J. Crowne Regulus iii. 30 So now my sinking heart is rais'd again. 1781 W. Hayley Triumphs of Temper ii. 43 To this short hope her sinking spirit clung. 1838 A. Jameson Winter Stud. & Summer Rambles in Canada II. 232 The first view of the beautiful town of Chatham made my sinking spirits bound like the sight of a friend. 1879 J. A. Froude Cæsar xiv. 212 [They] cowered in their tents with sinking hearts,..and composed last messages for their friends. 1934 B. Aronin Lost Tribe vii. 83 The trinket seemed sacred to me and it was with a sinking spirit that I contemplated the yielding of it. 2007 C. Stross Halting State (2008) 257 He's trying to be helpful, you realize with a sinking heart. Compounds † sinking-chain n. Obsolete rare part of the apparatus of a pit-shaft boring-rod. ΘΚΠ society > occupation and work > equipment > piercing or boring tools > [noun] > boring tool > for boring in the ground > equipment for use with sinking-chain1820 runner1839 rotary table1845 wad hook1881 socket1883 spreadera1884 whipstock1903 1820 Edinb. Encycl. (1830) XIV. 374/1 The beam centered at c, having an arc head and martingale sinking-chain. sinking fire n. U.S. (now rare and historical) a charcoal-fired cold-blast furnace, typically used to remelt pig iron and scrap iron. ΚΠ 1869 R. S. Stenton U.S. Patent 88,524 1/1 Cast-steel, the product of malleable iron, made in a sinking-fire, avoids the smelting process. 1946 Monthly Bull. (Pennsylvania Dept. Internal Affairs) Jan. 30 The Freedom Forge, using cold blast charcoal pig iron, worked in a ‘sinking fire’ or Catalan Forge, produced some of the best wrought iron in the country. sinking jar n. now rare a container used to determine the specific gravity of wort and wash during the brewing and distilling processes, consisting of a tin container weighed down with lead which is allowed to sink to a particular depth and then unsealed by means of a cord attached to a cork.Sinking jars were typically used by excise officers to determine how much excise should be charged on a particular batch of spirits. ΚΠ 1831 Rep. Select Comm. Use of Molasses 189 in Parl. Papers (H.C. 297) VII. 109 The officer draws his sample with a sinking jar, and it is probably six inches high. 1837 Penny Cycl. IX. 24/2 After due agitation of the wash three samples should be taken by the dipping cylinder, or sinking-jar. 1973 E. B. McGuire Irish Whiskey vii. 237 They were directed to use sinking jars. This is a corked can lowered to the bottom and the cork is then jerked out by a string. † sinking lead n. Obsolete a weight (originally made of lead) used with a sounding line; a sounding lead. ΘΚΠ society > travel > travel by water > vessel, ship, or boat > equipment of vessel > navigational aids > [noun] > sounding-line or -rod > weight on sounding-line plummetc1384 leadc1440 sounding-lead1485 sinking lead1648 blue pigeon1818 1648 H. Hexham Groot Woorden-boeck Een Zinck-loot, a Sinking-lead or Plummet to sound the depth of water. 1849 J. Leifchild & J. R. Leifchild Christian Emigrant i. 45 In places where the true bottom has been carefully sounded, it has been found to consist of gravel, mud, or organized bodies belonging to the lower classes of the animal kingdom, which have adhered to the sinking lead. sinking lid n. New Zealand a policy of lowering staff numbers by not replacing workers who resign or retire, typically in public services. Recorded earliest in attributive use. ΚΠ 1979 Rep. Year ended March 1979 (N.Z. Dept. Justice) 3 Staff..take up..heavier work loads resulting from..the effect of the ‘sinking lid’ formula on staff ceilings. 1985 Jrnl. Public Policy 5 39 In New Zealand, departments have been directed to shed 1.5 per cent of their staff annually by attrition or transfer... This mechanism is known as the ‘sinking lid’. 2007 N.Z. Business May 14/1 Put a sinking lid on staff numbers. sinking sand n. a bed of quicksand. ΘΚΠ the world > the earth > land > landscape > marsh, bog, or swamp > [noun] > quicksand quick gravela1300 quicksanda1300 sucking sand1513 Syrtis1526 sinking sand1531 syrt1574 Serbonian boga1618 flow1819 1531 J. Bellenden tr. H. Boece Chron. Scotl. (1938) I. i. ix. 47 This land of Annandaill has ane strait enteres, and circulit on euery syde othir with seyis, mossis, or synkand sandis. a1600 ( W. Stewart tr. H. Boece Bk. Cron. Scotl. (1858) III. l. 47343 Thair schippis..drevin vpoun the land, Quhair tha war ebbit on ane sinkand sand. a1616 W. Shakespeare Henry VI, Pt. 2 (1623) iii. ii. 97 The splitting Rockes cowr'd in the sinking sands . View more context for this quotation 1809 W. F. Mavor Brit. Tourist's Pocket Compan. (ed. 3) VI. 288 As they..must be approached over a sinking sand, their use is confined to those who study frugality rather than comfort. 1956 A. Wilson Anglo-Saxon Attitudes (1958) 334 The affaire with Elvira made me realize what a sinking sand I've lived on. 2012 U. C. Oshai Bumps of Life v. 84 The more he struggled to get out of the sinking sand, the deeper he sank. sinking stage n. Theatre (now historical and rare) a part of the stage constructed to sink and rise below stage level by means of machinery; (also) the area beneath the stage hollowed out for this purpose; = sink n.¹ 15. ΘΚΠ society > leisure > the arts > performance arts > the theatre or the stage > a theatre > stage > [noun] > sink and rise part sink1840 sinking stage1841 1841 Civil Engineer & Architect's Jrnl. 4 430/1 The stage,..including a considerable portion formed to rise or fall by suitable machinery, and called the sinking stage. 2008 G. Law & A. Maunder Wilkie Collins vii. 102 Any part of the stage could be removed so that a chasm could be represented and the Adelphi was famous for its ‘sinking stage’. This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2019; most recently modified version published online March 2022). < n.1440adj.1531
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