▪ I. ding, v.1 arch. or dial.
(dɪŋ)
Also 4–6 dyng(e. pa. tense sing. 4– dang (5– north.), 3–5 dong, 3–4 dannge, 4–5 dange, 7 dung; pl. 4–5 dungen (-yn), dongen, 5–6 dong(e, 6–7 dung; also 4–5 dange, 4– (5– north.) dang; 4 (south.) dynged, 6 ding'd, dingde, 6–7 danged. pa. pple. 3–6 dungen (-yn, -in), 5 dwngyn, doungene, 4–5 dongen (-yn, -un), 6– Sc. dung (6–7 doung, 6 donge); also 6–7 (south.) dingd, ding'd.
[Frequent from the end of the 13th c. (in later use chiefly northern), but not recorded in OE. Probably from Norse: cf. Icel. dengja to hammer, to whet a scythe, Sw. dänga to bang, thump, knock hard, Da. dænge to bang, beat. In Norse it is a weak verb, and the strong conjugation in Eng., which after 15th c. is Sc. or north. dial., may be on the analogy of sing, fling, etc.: cf. bring.]
† 1. intr. (or absol.) To deal heavy blows; to knock, hammer, thump. Obs. (or ? north. dial.)
| a 1300 Cursor M. 19356 (Edin.) Þan wiþ suaipis þai þaim suang, and gremli on þair corsis dange. c 1300 Havelok 2329 Þe gleymen on þe tabour dinge. 13.. Coer de L. 5270 Kyng Richard took his ax ful strong, And on the Sarezyn he dong. 1393 Langl. P. Pl. C. xvii. 179 Noþer peter þe porter · ne paul with his fauchon, That wolde defende me heuene dore · dynge ich neuere so late. 15.. Merry Jest Mylner Abyngton 133 in Hazl. E.P.P. III. 105 With two staues in the stoure They dange thereon, whyles they myght doure. 1828 Scott F. M. Perth xix, That Harry Smith's head was as hard as his stithy, and a haill clan of Highlandmen dinging at him? |
2. trans. To beat, knock, strike with heavy blows; to thrash, flog. to ding to death: to kill by repeated blows. (Now dial., chiefly Sc. or north.)
| c 1300 Havelok 215 The king..ofte dede him sore swinge, And wit hondes smerte dinge. Ibid. 227 Thanne he hauede ben..ofte dungen. c 1325 Metr. Hom. (1862) 71 Thai..dange hym that hys body blede. c 1400 Apol. Loll. 38 He þat knowiþ his lordis wille, & maad him not redy to do þer after, schal be dongun wiþ mani dingings. c 1400 Destr. Troy 2135 Dyng hom to deth er any dyn ryse. c 1400 Ywaine & Gaw. 3167 With his tayl the erth he dang. a 1529 Skelton Now sing we, &c. 17 Behold my body, how Jewes it donge with..scourges strong. 1533 Bellenden Livy ii. (1822) 115 He dang his hors with the spurris. 1549 Compl. Scot. xvii. 151 He [the horse] vas put in ane cart to drug and drau, quhar he vas euyl dung & broddit. 1563–7 Buchanan Reform. St. Andros Wks. (1892) 11 Nor ȝit sal it be leful to the said pedagogis to ding thair disciples. 1647 H. More Song of Soul ii. iii. iii. xxv, The rider fiercely dings His horse with iron heel. 1674 Ray N.C. Words 14 To Ding, to Beat. 1862 A. Hislop Prov. Scot. 88 He's sairest dung that's paid wi' his ain wand. 1870 Ramsay Remin. v. 146 Let ae deil ding anither. Mod. Suffolk colloq. Say that again, and I'll ding you in the head. |
† b. To crush with a blow, smash. Obs.
| c 1380 Sir Ferumb. 104, [I] wil kuþe on hem my miȝt; & dyngen hem al to douste. 1583 Stanyhurst æneis iii. (Arb.) 89 Dingd with this squising and massiue burthen of ætna. |
† c. To thrust through, pierce (with a violent thrust). Sc. Obs.
| 1536 Bellenden Cron. Scot. ix. xxix. (Jam.), Scho dang hir self with ane dagger to the hert, and fell down deid. Ibid. xv. ix. (Jam.), He dong hym throw the body with ane swerd afore the alter. |
3. fig. To ‘beat’, overcome, surpass, excel.
| [1500–20 Dunbar Poems xxxviii. 9 Dungin is the deidly dragon Lucifer.] 1724 Ramsay Tea-t. Misc. (1733) I. 24 Auld springs wad ding the new. 1814 Scott Wav. lxvi, It dings Balmawhapple out and out. 1884 Cheshire Gloss., Ding, to surpass or get the better of a person. 1893 Stevenson Catriona 188 We'll ding the Campbells yet in their own town. Mod. Berwickshire Prov., Duns dings a'. |
4. To knock, dash, or violently drive (a thing) in some direction, e.g. away, down, in, out, off, over, etc. to ding down, to knock down, thrust down, overthrow, demolish; to ding out, to drive out or expel by force.
| 13.. E.E. Allit. P. B. 1266 Diȝten dekenes to deþe, dungen doun clerkkes. a 1340 Hampole Psalter Cant. 504 He dyngis out þe deuyl fra þe hertis of his seruauntis. c 1400 Apol. Loll. 71 If I bigge ageyn þe þing þat I ding doun, I mak mesilfe a trespasor. c 1425 Wyntoun Cron. viii. xxvii. 36 Bot þai ware dwngyn welle away. 1513 Douglas æneis x. v. 154 Manfully..to wythstand At the cost syde, and dyng thame of the land. c 1565 Lindesay (Pitscottie) Chron. Scot. (1728) 64 His Thigh-Bone was dung in two by a Piece of a misframed Gun. a 1572 Knox Hist. Ref. Wks. 1846 I. 204 Thei dang the sclattis of[f] housis. 1593 Nashe Christ's T. 31 a, The bespraying of mens braines donge out against them. 1598 Marston Pygmal. v. 156 Prometheus..Is ding'd to hell. 1601 ― Pasquil & Kath. iii. 4 Hee dings the pots about. 1610 B. Jonson Alch. v. v, Gur. Downe with the dore. Kas. 'Slight, ding it open. 1613 Hayward Norm. Kings 20 The Duke brandishing his sword..dung downe his enemies on euery side. 1644 Milton Areop. (Arb.) 57 Ready..to ding the book a coits distance from him. 1645 Rutherford Lett. 357 That which seemeth to ding out the bottom of your comforts. 1653 Urquhart Rabelais i. xxvii, He..dang in their teeth into their throat. 1663 Spalding Troub. Chas. I, (1829) 24 They masterfully dang up the outer court gates. 1676 Row Contn. Blair's Autobiog. ix. (1848) 145 Rudders being..dung off their hinges. 1686 tr. Chardin's Trav. 67 Wind..which if it be violent dings 'em upon the coast. 1785 Spanish Rivals 8 Sometimes he dings his own head against a post. 1816 Scott Old Mort. xxviii, ‘You and the whigs hae made a vow to ding King Charles aff the throne.’ 1871 C. Gibbon Lack of Gold xii, I have been..trying to ding you out of my head. 1886 Hall Caine Son of Hagar i. i, ‘That's the way to ding 'em ouer.’ |
b. Without extension. (In quots. neuter passive, as in ‘a loaf that cuts badly’.)
| 1786 Burns A Dream iv, But Facts are cheels that winna ding, An' downa be disputed. Mod. Sc. Prov. Facts are stubborn things; they'll neither ding nor drive [i.e. they can neither be moved by force as inert masses, nor driven like cattle]. |
† 5. intr. (for refl.) To throw oneself with force, precipitate oneself, dash, press, drive. Obs.
| c 1400 Sowdone Bab. 1263 Tho thai dongen faste to-geder While the longe day endured. c 1430 Hymns Virg. (1867) 122 All they schall to-gedyr drynge, And euerychon to oþer dynge. c 1470 Henry Wallace i. 411 On ather side full fast on him thai dange. 1627 Drayton Moon Calf Poems (1748) 182 They..drive at him as fast as they could ding. |
b. To precipitate or throw oneself down, fall heavily or violently. to ding on: to keep falling heavily, as rain (but in this use, associated with beating on). (Now only Sc.)
| c 1460 Towneley Myst. (Surtees) 141 Greatt dukes downe dynges for his greatt aw, And hym lowtys. 1552 Lyndesay Monarche 1422 Frome the Heuin the rane doun dang Fourty dayis and fourty nychtis. 1602 Marston Antonio's Rev. iv. iii. Wks. 1856 I. 123 As he headlong topsie turvie dingd downe, He still cri'd ‘Mellida!’ 1663 Spalding Troub. Chas. I (1829) 44 A great rain, dinging on night and day. |
c. To throw oneself violently about, to fling, to bounce. to huff and ding: to bounce and swagger.
| 1674 Ray S. & E.C. Words 64 To Ding, to fling. 1680 New Catch in Roxb. Ball. V. 249 Jack Presbyter huffs and dings, And dirt on the Church he flings. a 1700 B. E. Dict. Cant. Crew, To Huff and Ding, to Bounce and Swagger. 1706–7 Farquhar Beaux' Strat. iii. iii, I dare not speak in the House, while that Jade Gipsey dings about like a Fury. 1712 Arbuthnot John Bull ii, iii, He huffs and dings at such a rate, because we will not spend the little we have left. |
6. In imprecations: = dash v. 11. dial.
| 1822 Scott Nigel xxvii, ‘Deil ding your saul, sirrah, canna ye mak haste.’ a 1860 Maj. Jones Courtsh. (Bartlett), You know it's a dinged long ride from Pineville. 1861 Geo. Eliot Silas M. 85 Ding me if I remember a sample to match her. 1879 Tourgee Fool's Err. (1883) 292 Ding my buttons if she ain't more Southern than any of our own gals. 1883 C. F. Smith in Trans. Amer. Philol. Soc. 47 Ding and dinged, moderate forms of an oath..peculiar to the South. |
7. Slang or Cant: (see quot.).
| 1812 J. H. Vaux Flash Dict., Ding, to throw, or throw away..To ding a person is to drop his acquaintance totally; also to quit his company, or leave him for the time present. |
8. Arch. To cover a brick wall-surface with a thin coat of fine mortar, trowelled smooth, and jointed to imitate brickwork, not necessarily following the actual joints.
| 1893 A. Beazeley in Let. 21 Nov., An architect, who showed me the letter containing the word Dinging told me the verb is in living technical use. 1894 [see below]. |
Hence ˈdinging vbl. n.
| a 1340 Hampole Psalter cxxii. 3 Þat he delyuer vs of all temptacioun & dyngynge. 1340 ― Pr. Consc. 7010 Dyngyng of devels with hamers glowand. c 1400 [see 2]. 1611 Cotgr., Enfonsure, a beating or dinging. 1894 Laxton's Price Book 49 ‘Dinging (a coat of thick lime-white and the joints afterwards struck with a jointer)’. |
▪ II. ding, v.2
(dɪŋ)
[Echoic. But in use confounded with ding v.1 and din v.]
1. intr. To sound as metal when heavily struck; to make a heavy ringing sound.
| 1820 Shelley Œdipus i. 236 Dinging and singing, From slumber I rung her. 1848 Dickens Dombey ix, Sledge hammers were dinging upon iron all day long. 1871 Daily News 20 Jan., The bellow of the bombardment..has been dinging in our ears. |
2. intr. To speak with wearying reiteration. Cf. din v.
| 1582 in Calderwood Hist. Kirk (1842–6) III. 658 To ding continuallie in his eares, and to perswade him to thinke his raigne unsure, wanting his mothers benedictioun. 1847–78 Halliwell, Ding, to taunt; to reprove. 1881 G. F. Jackson Shropsh. Word-bk., s.v., The Missis 'as bin dingin' at me..about Bessey knittin' the Maister a stockin' in a day. 1882 in W. Worcestersh. Gl. |
¶ to ding into the ears, ‘to drive or force into the ears’, appears to unite this with ding v.1 and din v.
| 1596 Dalrymple tr. Leslie's Hist. Scot. iv. (1887) 233 Inculcating and dinging it in the eiris and myndes of all. 1773 Goldsm. Stoops to Conq. ii. iii, If I'm to have any good, let it come of itself, not to keep dinging it, dinging it into one so. 1853 Thackeray in Four C. Eng. Lett. 557 To try and ding into the ears of the great, stupid, virtue-proud English..that there are some folks as good as they in America. 1879 Browning Ned Bratts 227 What else does Hopeful ding Into the deafest ear except—hope, hope's the thing? |
Hence ˈdinging vbl. n. and ppl. a.
| 1820 W. Irving Sketch-bk., Boar's Head Tavern (1887) 139 The din of carts, and the accursed dinging of the dustman's bell. |
▪ III. ding, n.1 dial.
(dɪŋ)
[f. ding v.1]
1. The act of dinging: a. a knock, a smart slap; b. a violent thrust, push, or driving.
| a 1825 Forby Voc. E. Anglia, Ding, a smart slap; particularly with the back of the hand. 1876 Whitby Gloss., Ding, a blow or thrust; the disturbance of a crowd. ‘A ding an' a stour’, a commotion and dust. |
2. Surfing. (See quot. 1962.)
| 1962 T. Masters Surfing made Easy 64 Dings, dents or holes in surfboard. 1968 W. Warwick Surfriding in N.Z. 17/2 When repairing a ding or damaged area on your board, don't rush. 1970 Surf I. x. 33/1 Real ridiculous—we all got dings. |
▪ IV. ding, n.2 and adv.
The stem of ding v.2, used as an imitation of the ringing sound of a heavy bell, or of metal when struck. Often adverbial or without grammatical construction, esp. when repeated.
| 1600 Shakes. A.Y.L. v. iii. 21 When Birds do sing, hey ding a ding, ding. 1801 M. G. Lewis Tales of Wonder, Grim White Woman xxiii, ‘Ding-a-ding! ding-a-ding!’ Hark! hark! in the air how the castle-bells ring! 1808 Mayne Siller Gun iv. 143 Ding, ding, ding, dang, the bells ring in. a 1845 Hood To Vauxhall 2 It hardly rains—and hark the bell!—ding-dingle. 1859 E. Capern Ball. & Songs 92 Whistling and cooing, Ding, down, delly. |
¶ Confounded with din n.
| 1749 J. Ray Hist. Reb. (1752) 383 The noisy ding of the great falls of water. 1868 Doran Saints & Sin. I. 114 The Puritan pulpits resounded..with the ding of politics. |
▪ V. † ding, n.3 Obs.
Also dinge.
Some kind of household vessel.
| 1594 Inv. in Archæol. XLVIII. 131 Imprimis one great dinge for bread iiijs. 1624 Ibid. 150 One trunck, one ding, one flagon. |
▪ VI. ding
Sc. var. of digne a. Obs. worthy.