ing

ing · noun¹

1. Proto-Indo-European · inherited from*h₂énkos“a bend; curve; bowl; hollow; dell; glen”
2. Proto-Germanic · inherited from*angijō“meadow”
3. Old English · inherited froming
4. Middle English · inherited froming
5. English todaying

From Middle English ing, ynge, enge, from Old English ing, *eng (“a meadow; ing”), from Proto-Germanic *angijō (“meadow”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₂énkos (“a bend; curve; bowl; hollow; dell; glen”), from *h₂enk- (“to bend; curve; bow”). Cognate with Scots eng (“ing; meadow”), Dutch eng (“pasture; farmland”), Danish eng (“meadow”), Swedish äng (“meadow; field”), Norwegian eng (“meadow”), Faroese ong (“grassland; meadow; pasture”), Icelandic eng (“a meadow”), Icelandic engi (“a meadow; meadowland”).

ing · noun²

From Pitman em and en, which it is related to phonetically and graphically, and the sound it represents. The change in vowel probably reflects the familiar suffix -ing.

Words from the same roots