dwelling, vbl. n.
(ˈdwɛlɪŋ)
[f. dwell v. + -ing1.]
The action of the verb dwell.
† 1. Delaying, delay; tarrying. Obs.
| c 1330 Havelok 1352 Loke that thou dwellen nouth: Dwelling haueth ofte scathe wrouth. c 1330 R. Brunne Chron. Wace (Rolls) 4965 Bot com, & make no dwellynge. c 1374 Chaucer Boeth. i. metr. i. 1 (Camb. MS.) Myn vnpietous lyf draweth a long vnagreable dwellynges [ingratas moras] in me. c 1475 Rauf Coilȝear 239 For my dwelling to nicht, I dreid me for blame. |
b. With
on,
upon: see
dwell v. 5.
| 1832 Baroness Bunsen in Hare Life I. ix. 380 It will not bear dwelling upon. |
2. Continued,
esp. habitual, residence; abode. Also
fig.| 1382 Wyclif Dan. v. 21 With feeld assis his dwellynge was. c 1400 Rom. Rose 6208 Ne no wight may, by my clothing, Wite with what folk is my dwellyng. 1586 A. Day Eng. Secretary ii. (1625) 51 My dwelling with Master L. continued..even to this present day. 1648 Gage West Ind. xviii. 124 The healthiest and pleasantest place of dwelling that ever I came into. |
† b. ‘Residence’, accommodation.
Obs.| c 1460 Fortescue Abs. & Lim. Mon. xvii. (1885) 151 He hath be þe yere iij. li. x{supd}, be sydes his dwellynge in þe logge. 1535 Coverdale 2 Kings ii. 19 There is good dwellynge in this cite..but the water is euell. |
3. concr. A place of residence; a dwelling-place, habitation, house.
| 1340 Hampole Pr. Consc. 1368 Na syker duellyng fynde we here. 1382 Wyclif John xiv. 2 In the hous of my fadir ben manye dwellingis. 14.. Voc. in Wr.-Wülcker 594/41 Mansio, a dwellynge. 1535 Coverdale 1 Esdras ix. 37 The children of Israel were in their dwellynges. 1613 Purchas Pilgrimage (1614) 749 They have no dwelling but their boats. 1667 Milton P.L. vii. 183 Good will To future men, and in thir dwellings peace. 1726 Adv. Capt. R. Boyle 43, I went back to my Dwelling. 1863 Geo. Eliot Romola i. xx, A street of high silent-looking dwellings. |
| fig. 1655 Stanley Hist. Philos. i. (1701) 40/1 Enclosed in the narrow dwelling of the Mind. 1713 Berkeley Guardian No. 3 ¶1 That bosom which ought to be the dwelling of sanctity and devotion. |
4. attrib. and
Comb., as
dwelling cave,
dwelling chamber,
dwelling cottage,
dwelling space,
† dwelling stead,
dwelling tent, etc.;
dwelling action (see
dwell v. 4 d). Also
dwelling-house, -place.
| a 1300 Cursor M. 14709 (Gött.) His duelling stede sal last in hell. a 1340 Hampole Psalter xxxviii. 17 Na duellynge stede haf i here. 1607 Topsell Serpents (1658) 793 The Sea-tortoises of India are so big, that with one of them they cover a dwelling Cottage. 1718 Berkeley Tour in Italy Wks. 1871 IV. 593 The dwelling-seat of the Prince of Caserta. 1780 Coxe Russ. Disc. 132 One of the dwelling-caves of the savages. 1836 Specif. Stansfeld's Patent No. 7130. 2 Producing a gradual pressure and dwelling action of the lay or slay. 1891 Month LXXIII. 25 Freight-cars..turned into dwelling-caves for the ballast-men. |
Hence
ˈdwellingless a., without a dwelling; possessing or containing no dwelling.
| 1882 Blackw. Mag. Feb. 244 A melancholy expanse—treeless, dwellingless, manless. 1894 Month May 68 Whether they be styled dwellers in waggons, or be dwellingless. |