steamingn.
/ˈstiːmɪŋ/, U.S. /ˈstimɪŋ/ The action of steam v., in various senses.attributive.1745 D. De Coetlogon Universal Hist. Arts & Sci. II. 106/2 A Steaming-Bason [used in hat-making].1832 Min. Evid. Comm. Factories Bill 29 They all had 4s. that worked at Mr. Noble's steaming-mill.attributive.1889 Pall Mall Gaz. 9 May 5/1 The City of Paris..arrived at New York yesterday, her steaming time from Queenstown to Sandy Hook being 5 days 23 hours 7 minutes.
1. † a. The exhaling of odour. Obsolete.† b. The glowing of flame.
ΘΚΠ
the world > physical sensation > smell and odour > [noun] > emitting of odours
steaminga1100
odoration?a1425
savouring1574
a1100 Aldhelm Glosses 3490 in A. S. Napier Old Eng. Glosses (1900) Fraglantiam .i. odorem, steminge.
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the world > matter > properties of materials > temperature > heat > burning > fire or flame > [noun] > flame or blaze > flaming or blazing > the glowing of flame
steamingc1440
c1440 Promptorium Parvulorum 474/1 Stemynge, or leemynge of fyyr, flammacio.
c. Emission of vapour, fuming (in quots. figurative).
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > gas > [noun] > fumes or vapour > action of being emitted or emitting
exhalation1398
smoking1530
fuminga1535
fumity1572
elevation1605
fumidity1623
avolation1650
fumosity1650
fumidness1727
steaming1819
outgassing1919
off-gassing1979
1668 J. Owen Nature Indwelling-sin vii. 94 It [sc. sin] darkens the mind..through the steaming of the Affections, heated with the noisome lusts that have laid hold on them.
1819 R. L. Sheil Evadne iv. ii. 64 You wonder That tears are dropping from my flaming eyelids, But 'tis the steaming of a burning heart.
2. The process of subjecting to the action of steam.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > food > food manufacture and preparation > cooking > [noun] > steaming
steaming1745
pressure cooking1917
pressure cookery1921
dum1963
the world > matter > properties of materials > temperature > heat > action of boiling > [noun] > action of steaming
steaming1745
the world > matter > gas > [noun] > fumes or vapour > water in the form of > steam > subjecting to the action of
steaming1745
1812 J. Sinclair Acct. Syst. Husbandry Scotl. i. 117 The practice of steaming [potatoes] was not known in those days.
1862 C. O'Neill Dict. Calico Printing at Steam colours The damper the steam the sooner will the steaming be done.
1869 Ann. Rep. Commissioner Agric. 1868 427 in U.S. Congress. Serial Set (40th Congr., 3rd Sess.: House of Representatives Executive Doc.) XV Steaming is done only twice a week, the food keeping warm three or four days in the box.
3. The production of steam in a boiler. Also attributive.
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the world > matter > gas > [noun] > fumes or vapour > water in the form of > steam > production of steam
steaming1874
1874 R. W. Raymond Statistics Mines & Mining 39 The Mount Diablo coal is used to a very great extent for steaming.
1875 F. G. D. Bedford Sailor's Pocket Bk. (ed. 2) v. 146 Whether wood can be procured in quantity sufficient for steaming purposes.
4. Travelling by steamboat or steamship.
ΘΚΠ
society > travel > travel by water > [noun] > by steamer
steamboating1826
steaming1836
steamering1895
1836 Southern Literary Messenger 2 696 Steaming from Washington to Baltimore is an improvement upon that route at least.
1853 N. Hawthorne Jrnl. 4 Aug. in Eng. Notebks. (1997) I. i. 5 I went over to the Royal Rock Hotel, about fifteen or twenty minutes steaming from this side of the river.
1883 F. M. Crawford Dr. Claudius viii Miss Skeat also thought sailing much more poetic than steaming.
1913 J. H. Morrison On Trail of Pioneers xxi. 98 Eight hundred miles of swift steaming down the Coromandel Coast brings us to Madras.
5. With up. In Agriculture, the provision of extra food to farm animals as preparation for reproduction.
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the world > food and drink > food > providing or receiving food > feeding animals > [noun] > fattening
frank?a1400
frankingc1440
fatting1577
sagination1607
steaming1943
the world > food and drink > farming > animal husbandry > animal keeping practices general > [noun] > fattening
frank?a1400
fatting1577
sagination1607
fattening1614
forcing1790
steaming1943
the world > food and drink > food > providing or receiving food > feeding animals > [noun] > fattening > fattening place > prior to reproduction
steaming1943
1943 R. Boutflour in Agriculture L. 306 It is now over twenty years since I coined the expression ‘steaming up’; the reason for its choice was to imply that a definite preparation was required.
1947 V. C. Fishwick Dairy Farming ii. 156 I believe in steaming-up and preparation for calving. This is how you get the milk.
1953 K. Russell Princ. Dairy Farming xiii. 153 The amount of steaming-up ration to be fed as concentrates is then decided by two factors—the condition of the cow or heifer and her probable milking capacity.
1960 Farmer & Stockbreeder 19 Jan. 122/3 Cows require ‘steaming up’ prior to calving.
Compounds
steaming light n. a white light carried on the masthead of a steamship under way at sea by night.
ΘΚΠ
society > travel > travel by water > vessel, ship, or boat > equipment of vessel > other equipment of vessel > [noun] > external lanterns lights
poop lantern1651
pharol1660
poop-light1708
top-lantern1748
pharos1759
truck-light18..
riding lamp1825
battle-lantern1830
pilot light1846
sidelight1848
riding light1861
running light1863
position light1889
smoking-lamp1889
navigation light1909
steaming light1909
spreader light1939
fanal-
1909 Man. Seamanship (Admiralty) II. i. 29 Navigation lights,..oil ones..consist of steaming light, in charge of 2nd captain of forecastle, who is responsible for placing it; after steaming light..; starboard bow light..; and port bow light.
1947 Sea Breezes iv. 139/2 A steamer appeared, also carrying steaming lights.
Draft additions 1993
colloquial. The action, by a gang, of passing rapidly through a public place (or train, etc.) robbing bystanders (or passengers) by force of numbers. Evidence to substantiate the U.S. origin of the term alleged in quot. 19871 is not forthcoming.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > possession > taking > stealing or theft > robbery > [noun] > attacking and robbing > by force of numbers
steaming1987
1987 Hackney Gaz. 24 Apr. 48/1 ‘Steaming’ gangs will return—police. Hackney's steaming mobs laid low at the weekend—but a senior policeman has warned that the giant gangs of muggers will return... The gangs call their terrifying form of robbery ‘steaming’, a term first coined in America's violent inner city ghettos.
1987 Daily Tel. 2 Sept. 11/5 This was the first time I had seen ‘steaming’, the name given to open stealing in numbers. A gang of marauding youths, acting quickly and then dispersing on a pre-arranged plan, are hard to resist.
1988 Times 8 July 4/1 Four youths were acquitted yesterday..of conspiring to commit robbery during the ‘steaming’ of a London Underground train.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1916; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
steamingadj.
That steams.† 1. Glowing, flaming. Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > light > light emitted in particular manner > [adjective] > glowing
burningc1000
glowingc1000
flaming?a1400
rutilanta1460
glenta1529
steaminga1542
ardent1603
flaring1633
glowy1670
aflame1680
coalish1686
flushing1728
incandescent1867
smouldering1898
a1542 T. Wyatt Coll. Poems (1969) cvi. 53 Vnder a stole she spied two stemyng Ise In a rownde hed.
1583 B. Melbancke Philotimus sig. I v A cat in seing with her steeming eies.
2.
a. That emits steam or vapour.
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > liquid > moisture or humidity > [adjective] > that emits or relating to moist vapour
reekingOE
reekya1500
evaporating1597
steaminga1637
steamy1644
exhaling1766
the world > matter > gas > [adjective] > of the nature of fumes or vapour > relating to or consisting of steam > emitting steam
steaminga1637
a1637 B. Jonson Under-woods lxxxv. 66 in Wks. (1640) III To view..The wealthy houshold swarme of bondmen met, And 'bout the steeming Chimney set!
1667 J. Milton Paradise Lost v. 186 Ye Mists and Exhalations that now rise From Hill or steaming Lake. View more context for this quotation
1697 J. Dryden tr. Virgil Georgics iv, in tr. Virgil Wks. 124 Nor near the steaming Stench of muddy Ground. View more context for this quotation
1735 W. Somervile Chace i. 321 Soon the sagacious Brute..the steaming Vapour snuffs Inquisitive.
1799 W. Wordsworth Two April Mornings 10 Through the grass, And by the steaming rills.
1860 C. Dickens et al. Message from Sea iii, in All Year Round Extra Christmas No., 13 Dec. 26/1 At the upper end of this room stood long stoves, like metal counters, laden with steaming-pans.
1865 J. S. Le Fanu Guy Deverell I. vii. 96 He..pulled up his steaming horse by the station.
1883 R. L. Stevenson Treasure Island iii. xiv. 115 The sun still shining mercilessly on the steaming marsh.
1899 E. Phillpotts Human Boy 28 A steaming glass of hot grog is what you want.
b. quasi-adv. in steaming hot.
ΚΠ
1686 E. Verney in V. Mem. (1899) IV. 381 For fear..you should catch harm, for as I did once coming out of the Theatre at a publick Act when it was very full and stiaming-hot [sic], and walkin a Broad in the cold.
1815 W. Scott Lord of Isles v. xxxiii. 216 Then on the board his sword he toss'd, Yet steaming hot.
1907 J. H. Patterson Man-eaters of Tsavo xiii. 150 A cup of steaming hot coffee.
3. Used as a substitute for a strong expletive: consummate, ‘blithering’. slang.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > quantity > greatness of quantity, amount, or degree > high or intense degree > [adjective] > very great or extreme > specifically of something bad or reprobated
woefula1400
mortalc1425
preciousc1475
fine1559
trim1569
gay1581
unconscionable1590
pocky1601
abominable1612
fearful1634
handsome1638
plaguey1694
dreadful1700
awfy1724
murrain1728
diabolical1750
deuced1782
dire1836
sinful1863
sodding1881
blooming1882
flaming1895
ruddy1896
abysmal1904
awful1916
hellishing1927
right1958
steaming1962
schwag1993
1962 Listener 13 Dec. 1024/3 A cautionary tale concerning a real steaming nit of a British civilian.
1965 A. Garner Elidor xix. 147 Roland! You great steaming chudd! Come back!
Draft additions September 2019
steaming drunk adj. colloquial (now chiefly British) extremely or incapably drunk; inebriated.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > drink > thirst > excess in drinking > [adjective] > drunk > completely or very drunk
drunk as a (drowned) mousea1350
to-drunka1382
as drunk as the devilc1400
sow-drunk1509
fish-drunk1591
swine-drunk1592
gone1603
far gone1616
reeling drunk1620
soda1625
souseda1625
blind1630
full1631
drunk (also merry, tipsy) as a lord1652
as full (or tight) as a tick1678
clear1688
drunk (dull, mute) as a fish1700
as drunk as David's sow or as a sow1727
as drunk as a piper1728
blind-drunkc1775
bitch foua1796
blootered1820
whole-seas over1820
three sheets in the wind1821
as drunk as a loon1830
shellaced1881
as drunk as a boiled owl1886
stinking1887
steaming drunk1892
steaming with drink1897
footless1901
legless1903
plastered1912
legless drunk1926
stinko1927
drunk as a pissant1930
kaylied1937
langers1949
stoned1952
smashed1962
shit-faced1963
out of (also off) one's bird1966
trashed1966
faced1968
stoned1968
steaming1973
langered1979
annihilated1980
obliterated1984
wankered1992
muntered1998
1892 Harper's Weekly 16 Apr. 376/3 He was steaming drunk.
1984 I. Banks Wasp Factory (1990) iii. 55 I don't go getting steaming drunk... I just have a drink or two to be sociable.
2004 D. King Pornographer Diaries xiv. 189 I cracked open the vodka, got steaming drunk and half thought about sticking a porno on.
Draft additions September 2019
colloquial (originally and chiefly Scottish). steaming with drink: extremely or incapably drunk; inebriated.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > drink > thirst > excess in drinking > [adjective] > drunk > completely or very drunk
drunk as a (drowned) mousea1350
to-drunka1382
as drunk as the devilc1400
sow-drunk1509
fish-drunk1591
swine-drunk1592
gone1603
far gone1616
reeling drunk1620
soda1625
souseda1625
blind1630
full1631
drunk (also merry, tipsy) as a lord1652
as full (or tight) as a tick1678
clear1688
drunk (dull, mute) as a fish1700
as drunk as David's sow or as a sow1727
as drunk as a piper1728
blind-drunkc1775
bitch foua1796
blootered1820
whole-seas over1820
three sheets in the wind1821
as drunk as a loon1830
shellaced1881
as drunk as a boiled owl1886
stinking1887
steaming drunk1892
steaming with drink1897
footless1901
legless1903
plastered1912
legless drunk1926
stinko1927
drunk as a pissant1930
kaylied1937
langers1949
stoned1952
smashed1962
shit-faced1963
out of (also off) one's bird1966
trashed1966
faced1968
stoned1968
steaming1973
langered1979
annihilated1980
obliterated1984
wankered1992
muntered1998
1897 D. Hobbs Tales Black-country Life vii. 109 A few weeks after his recall, Gavin came into the works one day positively steaming with drink.
1914 County Folk-lore: Fife VII. 406 A drunk man, if very drunk, is described as ‘mortagious’, ‘miracklous, steamin' wi' drink’, or ‘blin' fou'’.
2014 A. Cleeves Thin Air (2015) 351 Sometimes it was the wild boys of the island, steaming with drink because they were bored out of their skulls.
Draft additions September 2019
colloquial (originally and chiefly Scottish). Extremely or incapably drunk; inebriated.Cf. earlier steaming drunk adj. at Additions, steaming with drink at Additions.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > drink > thirst > excess in drinking > [adjective] > drunk > completely or very drunk
drunk as a (drowned) mousea1350
to-drunka1382
as drunk as the devilc1400
sow-drunk1509
fish-drunk1591
swine-drunk1592
gone1603
far gone1616
reeling drunk1620
soda1625
souseda1625
blind1630
full1631
drunk (also merry, tipsy) as a lord1652
as full (or tight) as a tick1678
clear1688
drunk (dull, mute) as a fish1700
as drunk as David's sow or as a sow1727
as drunk as a piper1728
blind-drunkc1775
bitch foua1796
blootered1820
whole-seas over1820
three sheets in the wind1821
as drunk as a loon1830
shellaced1881
as drunk as a boiled owl1886
stinking1887
steaming drunk1892
steaming with drink1897
footless1901
legless1903
plastered1912
legless drunk1926
stinko1927
drunk as a pissant1930
kaylied1937
langers1949
stoned1952
smashed1962
shit-faced1963
out of (also off) one's bird1966
trashed1966
faced1968
stoned1968
steaming1973
langered1979
annihilated1980
obliterated1984
wankered1992
muntered1998
1973 ‘J. Patrick’ Glasgow Gang Observed vi. 63 On the way we met Mick Malloy, who had been so drunk the night before that he had looked as though he was still ‘steamin'’.
1995 I. Banks Whit (1996) xxvi. 410 We have to go out and get steamin' and listen to jazz and stuff.
2018 @lauramckeatingx 19 Aug. in twitter.com (O.E.D. Archive) Was so steaming last night I was typing my phone number into the card machine instead of my pin and have now blocked my card for 24 hours.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1916; most recently modified version published online December 2019).
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n.a1100adj.a1542