▪ I. working, vbl. n.
(ˈwɜːkɪŋ)
[f. work v. + -ing1. Cf. MDu., MLG. werkinge, OHG. wer(a)chunga, MHG. werkunge; MHG. wurkung; (MH)G. wirkung.]
The action of work v.; the result of this.
I. 1. a. Performance of work or labour; † formerly also, that which is done, work.
| a 1300 Cursor M. 11997 Qui dos þou men sli plaint to mak, For þi wircking on vr sabbat? 13.. Ibid. 5522 (Gött.) We sal find wirking for þair sake; Apon þair neckes sal þai bere Bollis wid stan and wid mortere. c 1450 Godstow Reg. 605 Coterellis, rentis, workyngis, helpis, wardis, relefis. 1494 Acc. Ld. High Treas. Scot. I. 245 For vj dayis wyrken, vj s. 1550 Crowley Epigr. 186 To se where the treasure will finde them workinge, To the profit of the Citye. 1579 Rice Invect. Vices B iij, Is Carde plaiyng woorkyng? Is the blasphemie of Goddes moste holie name a woorkynge? 1616 Sir E. Mountagu in Buccleuch MSS. (Hist. MSS. Comm.) I. 249 He..wondered at what you had told him of my mother's working, being stone blind. 1686 tr. Chardin's Trav. Persia 357 There has been no working in the Gold Mine for this long time. 1748 Anson's Voy. ii. iii. 147 The working upon the wreck, and the securing the provisions. 1832 P. Egan's Bk. Sports 237/1, I like to see the working of the hounds; to see them in difficulty; to mark the threading, the stopping, the eagerness to find. 1842 Dickens Amer. Notes iv, The laws of the State forbid their working more than nine months in the year. 1899 Westm. Gaz. 14 Apr. 2/3 Working is agreeable to my nature and to my health. |
b. working to rule, the action of strictly observing the limits of one's occupational duties; also
= work-to-rule n. (see
work v. 27 d).
| 1927 W. E. Collinson Contemp. Eng. 84 The inconveniences of lightning-strikes, ca' canny policy (deliberate restriction of output) and working-to-rule. 1951 Engineering 2 Nov. 568/3 The overtime ban and working to rule have remained in force. Ibid., Similar working-to-rule methods..were put into operation by lightermen at the Port of London. 1958 Times 19 Aug. 8/3 To what extent the ‘working to rule’ will apply will depend on the attitude of individual busmen. 1964 M. Argyle Psychol. & Social Probl. xiv. 172 Anti-organization practices such as restriction of output, unofficial strikes and working to rule. a 1974 R. Crossman Diaries (1976) II. 686, I tried to make them realize..what I meant by quietism. I suggested that it meant a ‘non-enthusiastic execution’—working to rule, shall we say? |
† 2. a. Performance, execution, achievement (of some particular work or action); procedure.
Obs.| c 1375 Sc. Leg. Saints xiii. (Marcus) 50 Of þe virkine Of ferly werkis þat he wrocht. 1382 Wyclif 1 Cor. xii. 10 The worchinge of vertues. 1390 Gower Conf. I. 276 To se the worchinge of the dede. 1422 Yonge tr. Secr. Secr. 136 In Suche shewynge and oppyne wyrchynge of good werkes. a 1425 tr. Arderne's Treat. Fistula, etc. 21 A maner of wirchyng in fistula in ano. c 1449 Pecock Repr. ii. xiii. 224 Bi her..wirching of miraclis. 1526 Pilgr. Perf. (W. de W. 1531) 74 b, In declynynge from euyll, and in dylygent workynge of good. 1604 E. G[rimstone] D'Acosta's Hist. Indies iii. viii. 143 For the working whereof, the vapors and exhalations of the sea, are sufficient. 1611 in 10th Rep. Hist. MSS. Comm. App. i. 530 For y⊇ working of their other endes. 1675 A. Browne Appendix Art Paint. 10 Observe that you be not too Curious in the first Working, but rather make choice of a good Free and Bold Following of Nature. 1693 Moxon Mech. Exerc. (1703) 261 In which Fig. 1. is shewn the usual way of bad Working. |
b. spec. in
Freemasonry, (the performance of) a rite, a system of ritual.
| 1884 W. J. Hughan Orig. Eng. Rite Freemasonry p. iii, Although under various Grand Lodges the details of the working differ, the landmarks remain practically identical. 1903 J. T. Lawrence Masonic Jurisprudence & Symbolism viii. 75 The more important one [sc. duty] is to see that ceremonies are conducted in accordance with working sanctioned by the Grand Lodge of England. 1932 S. M. Hills Freemason's Craft viii. 64 The Articles of the Union..stipulated that there should henceforth be perfect unity of working, and the Lodge of Reconciliation was formed..to agree upon a working. |
† 3. Making, manufacture, production, preparation, construction; also, the manner or style in which something is made, handiwork, workmanship.
Obs.| 1362 Langl. P. Pl. A. iii. 49 We han a wyndow in worching [C. iv. 51 a worchyng] wol stonden vs ful heiȝe. 1452 in Willis & Clark Cambridge (1886) I. 282, iij sengulere Principalls in werkyng in inbowyng and in Scantlyon accordyng to the Principalls. 1460–70 Bk. Quinte Essence 5 Anoþer maner worchinge of oure quinta essencia is þis. 1496 Acc. Ld. High Treas. Scot. I. 278 For werking of the irne werk to the samyn hous, vj li. xij d. 1535 in Gage Hengrave (1822) 51 For working of ij doores. 1538 Starkey England i. iii. (1878) 94 A thousand such tryfelyng thyngys, wych other we myght wel lake, or els, at the lest, our owne pepul myght be occupyd wyth the workyng therof. 1601 Act 43 Eliz. c. 10 (title) An Acte for the true workinge and makinge of Wollen Clothe. 1633 P. Fletcher Purple Isl. iv. xx, Two streets..Of severall stuffe, and severall working fram'd. 1677 Moxon Mech. Exerc. ii. 21, I shall now shew you the working of a Spring-lock. 1726 Leoni Alberti's Archit. I. 55 The difference between the working of a Vault and a Wall. |
4. a. The action of operating or performing work upon something; manipulation, management (of an apparatus, a vessel in navigation, etc.); exploitation (of a mine, etc.); also in
Angling (see
quot. 1880).
† in (the) working: being worked upon, when worked upon; in operation; in use.
| 1450 Rolls of Parlt. V. 202/1 No maner of Merchaundises..of the growyng nor wurkyng of the Landes and parties that the seide Duke..occupieth. 1545 R. Ascham Toxoph. ii. (Arb.) 114 Whan the backe and the bellye [of the bow] in woorkynge, be muche what after one maner. 1577 Harrison England iii. i. 95 b/1 in Holinshed, Because it [sc. brown bread] is dry and brickle in the working..some adde a portion of rye meale. 1618 Ralegh Apol. Guiana 57 The working of a Myne there. a 1642 Sir W. Monson Naval Tracts i. (1704) 190/1 They could not discern the Lord General's Working, but stood their Course as before directed. 1680 Moxon Mech. Exerc. xi. 201 When the Treddle comes down in working. Ibid. xiii. 222 A piece of Ivory..strong enough to bear working till they bring it to as small a Cilinder as they can. 1795 Local Act 35 Geo. III, c. 156 §30 Nothing in this Act..shall..prevent the working or scouring of the same..Mines. 1831–3 P. Barlow in Encycl. Metrop. (1845) VIII. 546/2 This scraping, or working, as it is termed,..renders the skin soft and pliant. 1853 Beil's Technol. Wbch., Working of a blast-furnace (the mode of action to which the quality of iron is subjected). 1880 F. Francis Bk. Angling vi. (ed. 5) 225 You must..flip your fly to and fro to shake the water out and so dry it for another cast. This sometimes will require seven or eight ‘flips’ or workings to effect. 1892 Photogr. Ann. II. 535 Should it be wished during the lecture to introduce a mechanical slide,..the working of it is as follows. 1894 Jrnl. Anthrop. Inst. XXIII. 273 If they [sc. flints] possess definite characteristics of form, of wear, of weather, of material, of working. |
b. The carrying on or putting into operation (of a scheme, system, legislation, etc.).
| 1832 Edin. Rev. Oct. 245 heading, Working and Prospects of the Reform. 1845 C. F. Barker Mem. on Syria title-p., The Purchase and Tenure of Land, And the Working of the Old and New Tarif. 1847 Edin. Rev. Apr. 397 Exhibiting on that wide theatre the useful working of the fundamental institutions of the British monarchy. 1884 Stockton Lady or Tiger 14 His majesty..was greatly interested in the workings and development of this trial. 1884 Dilke in A. Cawston Street Improv. London (1893) 101 The working of the byelaws in Birmingham under the 90th section of the Public Health Act. 1912 Engl. Hist. Rev. Jan. 43 Some changes in the working of the chancery. |
5. Action, operation.
a. Of a person;
esp. collect. sing. and pl. actions, doings, deeds.
† good working (
rare): good works.
Obs. or
arch.| c 1380 Wyclif Wks. (1880) 386 God is so parfyte in alle his worchynge þat [etc.]. c 1386 Chaucer Wife's Prol. 698 The children of Mercurie and Venus Been in hir wirkyng ful contrarius. c 1400 Cursor M. 29441 (Cott. Galba) Þou may with him comun in dede, Bot þe wers may þi wirking spede. c 1400 Rom. Rose 6123 Thou most discouere all thi wurchyng, How thou seruest, and of what thyng. c 1407 Lydg. Reson & Sens. 3169 Withoute engyn of fals werkyng. 1426 ― De Guil. Pilgr. 11511 They sholde ellys for hunger deye, Ne were I & my werchyng. c 1440 Jacob's Well 110 To wythstonde alle temptacyouns & to be perseueraunt in good werkyng. c 1449 Pecock Repr. ii. xviii. 258 That he was lijk in wirching to a vyne. c 1480 Henryson Swallow i, The hie prudence, and wirking meruelous,..of god omnipotent. 1539 Morison Invect. agst. Treas. title-p., Wherein the secrete practises, and traiterous workinges of theym that suffrid of late are disclosed. 1594 Hooker Eccl. Pol. i. ii. §2 The being of God is a kind of Law to his working. 1692 L'Estrange Fables cxlvii. 134 The Wayes and Workings of Providence are unsearchable. 1706 E. Ward Wooden World Diss. (1708) 21 Against Wind and Tide too, there's no Working. 1742 Richardson Pamela (1785) IV. 146, I leave you to your own Workings. 1874 W. P. Mackay Grace & Truth 220 In the twelfth chapter of Revelation we have depicted a remarkable series of Satan's workings. 1909 W. James Unveiled Heart 70 Almighty and Everliving God,..it is Thy glory to conceal Thy workings. |
† b. Of a thing; sometimes
pl., functions.
Obs. in general sense.
| 1340 Hampole Pr. Consc. 4907 Þe wirkyng of þe fire swa brinnand. 1398 Trevisa Barth. De P.R. xviii. i. (1495) Y j b/2 Membres [of beestys] ben..dyuers in werkynge, as it faryth in the eeres of the olyphaunt with the whyche he fyghteth. c 1400 tr. Secr. Secr., Gov. Lordsh. 80 Alle þe fyue wyttes þat sholde gouerne.. alle þe wyrkynges of þe body. c 1449 Pecock Repr. ii. xvi. 242 That the seid parties of heuen reuliden ful myche the worchingis of bodies here binethe in the louȝer world. c 1460 Sir R. Ros La Belle Dame 342 (Camb. MS.) Loue is sotyle,..Scharpe in worchyng. c 1470 Henry Wallace vi. 10 In Aperill quhen cleithit is..The abill grounde be wyrking off natur. |
c. Of a drug, medicine, etc.
| a 1425 tr. Arderne's Treat. Fistula, etc. 45 Þat worchyng shal better done and soner if þe secounde day after þe puttyng to of arsenek be putte to larde wiþ þe emplastre sanguiboetes. 1562 Turner Herbal ii. (1568) 96 The lesse kynde [of Poly] is..more effectuus or stronger in working. 1567 J. Maplet Gr. Forest 1 b, She shal whilest she is in sleepe imbrace hir husband through the working of this stone. 1580 T. B[edford] Treat. Med. (1615) 17 These strange workings of these foreigne drugges in our bodies. 1631 Widdowes Nat. Philos. 39 His Rozen is in smell, taste, and working better than common Turpentine. 1648 Gage West Ind. 79 After my physicks working. 1694 Salmon Bate's Dispens. (1713) 281/2 It is a good Medicine for the Purposes intended... In the working of it, you must be sure to provide two or three Quarts of Posset-drink..aforehand. |
d. Of the mind, conscience, etc. Often
pl.| 1588 Shakes. L.L.L. iv. i. 33 Glory growes guiltie..When for Fames sake..We bend to that, the working of the hart. 1591 ― 1 Hen. VI, v. v. 86, I am sicke with working of my thoughts. c 1600 ― Sonn. xciii, What ere thy thoughts, or thy hearts workings be. 1602 ― Ham. ii. ii. 580. 1707 Rowe Royal Convert v. i, The secret workings of my Brain, Stand all reveal'd to thee. 1748 Richardson Clarissa (1768) III. 310 Who can account for the workings of an apprehensive mind, when all that is dear and valuable to it is at stake? 1798 S. & Ht. Lee Cant. T. II. 380 A friend..would find a generous pleasure in aiding the workings of an ingenuous nature. 1801 Southey Thalaba xii. ii, His brain, with busier workings. a 1845 Barham Ingol. Leg. Ser. iii. Hermann. Workings Of conscience. 1869 Freeman Norm. Conq. III. xii. 138 note, The Archdeacon now gets very eloquent, and gives us all the inner workings of the mind. |
e. The conduct or operations collectively of a factory, vessel, or the like.
| 1873 Act 36 & 37 Vict. c. 71. §58 Any grating..placed so as..to interfere with the effective working of any mill. 1920 Goode Econ. Cond. Centr.-Europe i. 12 In full working the cotton mills of Russia consumed about 1,500,000 bales of cotton per annum. 1920 Act 10 & 11 Geo. V, c. 30 Sch. I. ii, The profits or the gross earnings of the working of the vessel. |
f. Of a bus, train, etc.
| 1978 M. Keeley et al. Birmingham City Transport 181 City—Bull Ring—Coventry Road—Lyndon End. Short working of 94. 1982 Railway Mag. Nov. 508/1 A reader who visited Scarborough..noted a wide variety of locomotive classes in use on summer-holiday workings. |
6. Influential operation; influence, effectiveness; also, the result or effect of operation or influence. Somewhat
arch.| c 1374 Chaucer Boeth. iii. pr. xi. (1868) 95 Whan þei ben gadred to-gidre al in to a forme and in to oon wirchyng [orig. in unam veluti formam atque efficientiam]. 1414 Brampton Penit. Ps. (Percy Soc.) 24 Thanne schal the werkyng be ful sene Of ‘Ne reminiscaris, Domine!’ 1450–1530 Myrr. our Ladye i. xii. 34 Whan they began to prayse god; god tornyd tho enemys eche of them agenste other... A maruelous werkyng of goddes seruyce. 1547 Homilies i. Exhort. rdg. Holy Script. ij b, [The words of Scripture] haue euer an heauenly spiritual workinge in them. 1567 Gude & Godlie B. (S.T.S.) 14 Throw wirking of the Spirite in til our hart. a 1586 Sidney Arcadia ii. xxiii. (1912) 295 Her fayre colour decaied;..and hastily grew into the very extreme working of sorowfulnesse. 1592 Timme Ten Engl. Lepers E 2 b, There is as great defference betwene the working of hypocrisie and the working of grace, as betwene the working of arte, and the operation of nature. 1718 Free-thinker No. 96. 291 The Workings of Superstition are insinuating and slow. 1759 Sterne Tr. Shandy I. xix, The workings of a parent's love upon the truth and conviction of this very hypothesis. 1861 Brougham Brit. Const. xi. 150 note, The working of clerical prejudice in..a liberal mind. 1875 Manning Mission Holy Ghost i. 10 Faith, hope, and charity, are the three primary workings of the Holy Ghost in the soul. |
7. Mathematical calculation; the process of calculating, or performing the necessary mathematical operations for ascertaining, a quantity, etc. Now chiefly, the statement of the operations involved in solving a mathematical problem.
| c 1386 Chaucer Frankl. T. 552 By his .8. speere in his wirkyng He knew ful wel how fer Alnath was shoue. c 1391 ― Astrol. ii. §35 This is the workinge of the conclusioun, to knowe yif þat any planete be directe or retrograde. a 1400 in Halliw. Rara Mathem. (1841) 61 Þat leves after þi wirkyng es þe heght fro A poynte to þe heght of þe thyng. c 1425 Crafte Nombrynge 30 Þou most know well þe craft of þe wyrchynge in þe tabulle. 1543 Recorde Gr. Artes 123 Y⊇ same y{supt} appeareth of y⊇ other working before. 1654 J. Eyre Exact Surveyor 75 Which by the working according to the former directions, will be found to be about 63 yards. 1842 Dickens Amer. Notes xvi, The observation every day at noon, and the subsequent working of the ship's course. 1873 Todhunter Confl. Studies 74 That a knowledge of mathematics may be gained without the perpetual working of examples. 1883 Pall Mall Gaz. 8 Nov., No marks are to be allowed in the arithmetic paper unless the candidate shows up the ‘working’ of the sums as well as the final result. |
† 8. a. Aching; ache, pain.
Obs.| a 1400 Stockholm Med. MS. 96 For werkyng of the hed. Ibid. 151 For wynd in þe hed, & werkyng in þe hed. Ibid. i. 11 in Anglia XVIII. 295 Ȝif a man..In hys heed hath gret sekenesse, Or ony grewaunce or ony werkynge. c 1400 tr. Secr. Secr., Gov. Lordsh. 76 Corupcioun of sight, werkynge of þe brayn. Ibid. 77 He felys his mete bitter in his brest, and werkyng of þe koghe. |
† b. Stomachic or intestinal disturbance.
Obs.| 1577 Stanyhurst Descr. Irel. ii. 4 b/1 in Holinshed, Beyng moderately taken..it [sc. Aqua vitæ] kepeth..the belly from wirtchyng. 1650 Venner Via Recta, Tobacco 407 So..as to cause a violent and sickly working both upward and downward. 1717 Floyer Asthma i. 9 A loose Stool frequently happens from the great working in the Belly, occasion'd by the Fit. |
9. Fermentation of liquor.
| 1565 Cooper Thesaurus, Aestus mustulentus, the fomyng or sprincling vp of newe wine, in ale we call it workyng. 1626 Bacon Sylva §992 Staying the Working of Beere. 1662 Charleton Myst. Vintners (1675) 153 Sickly commotions, or (to speak in the dialect of Wine-coopers) Workings. 1707 Mortimer Husb. 561 It will set your Wine in a gentle working, and purifie it in twenty four Hours. 1753 Chambers' Cycl. Suppl. s.v. Wash, With respect to the..workings of this liquor, great regard is to be had to the containing vessel. 1826 Art Brewing (ed. 2) 103 Conclude the fermentation in from 40 to 50 hours, and when it is cleansed do not fill up too frequently, for it will work off with great rapidity: rather, by moderate fillings, encourage its working. 1833 Loudon Encycl. Archit. §1324 Unless the weather be very severe, the working (as it is called) proceeds equally well with that removed to the vaults or cellars. |
10. a. Restless movement of water (
esp. the sea); straining of a ship, a vehicle, etc. so as to loosen the fittings.
| 1582 N. Lichefield tr. Castanheda's Conq. E. Ind. i. xxix. 73 The Seas went so high..they thought it unpossible for the shippes to escape;..by the working of them it was thought, that sometime they did hoyse up theyr shippes aboue the Element. 1662 R. Venables Exper. Angler iii. 34 The working of the Lough makes it sandy. 1748 Anson's Voy. ii. iv. 157 The water the Pink had made by her working and straining in bad weather. 1793 Smeaton Edystone L. §301 By the continual working of the carriage [sc. a carrier's cart], two of them had been broken. 1892 Lockwood's Dict. Terms Mech. Engin. 414 The working of the frames of locomotives signifies the loosening of their joints, due to the strains communicated to them by the engines. 1901 Scotsman 6 Nov. 10/5 Owing to the working of the masts the deck was opening up. |
b. Involuntary movement of the face or mouth,
esp. due to emotion.
| 1800 Wordsw. Pet Lamb 18, I unobserved could see the workings of her face. 1818 Scott Hrt. Midl. xii, As if to prevent his seeing the working of his countenance. 1844 E. M. Sewell Amy Herbert xi. I. 201 The working of her forehead showed the storm that was gathering. 1848 Dickens Dombey lii, Lighting a candle, which displayed the workings of her mouth [sc. ‘mumbling and munching’] to ugly advantage. |
11. The proper action or movement of a piece of mechanism or the like.
| c 1645 Howell Lett. i. ii. xi. (1890) 110 To hinder the working of your Fire-works. 1727 [Dorrington] Philip Quarll (1816) 38 Quarll..was astride on the main yard, with a hatchet to cut down what stopped the working of it. 1827 Ann. Reg., Chron. 77/1 The only noise he heard..was the working of a neighbouring pump. 1851 Kingsley Yeast ix, The workings of his lungs pumped great jets of blood out. |
12. Gradual movement or progress (as against resistance).
| 1683 Moxon Mech. Exerc., Printing xi. ¶23 It will so enrage the Oyl, and raise the Scum, that it might endanger the working over the top of the Kettle. 1802 Playfair Illustr. Huttonian Theory 401 The working of water collected from the rains and the snows. |
II. concr. † 13. Decorative work.
Obs.| 1536 in Antiq. Sarisb. (1771) 193 Curiously ornate with dyvers workings and chasings. 1707 Lond. Gaz. No. 4373/4 A..Purse, worked round with 3 distinct Rows of Gold Working. |
14. A place in which mineral is or has been worked; a mining excavation.
| 1766 Ann. Reg., Chron. 86 The foul air in an old working took fire. 1839 Ure Dict. Arts 969 Many water-logged fissures come to be cut by the workings. 1872 Echo 8 Oct. 3 An explosion..occurred in a part of the working which extends in a northerly direction beneath the town. 1912 Times 10 July 8/1 Another explosion..took place,..while a rescue party was below in the workings. |
III. 15. With adverbs, as
working-off,
working-together,
working-up (see
work v. 40); also
attrib.;
working-out: also
spec. in
Mus. = development 10;
working-over (
slang)
= going over, going-over 2 b and c.
| 1662 Evelyn Sculptura iii. 33 They also engrave upon stone, and imprint with it; but with this difference in the *working-off; that the paper being black, the Sculpture remains white. 1836 Penny Cycl. V. 240 By being careful in the operation of working off, a thinner paper is employed. 1855 Kingsley Westw. Ho! xxxii, Let him have his humour... It may be the working off of his madness. |
| 1842 Manning Serm. i. (1848) 17 All the face of the world bespeaks the *working-out of the prophecy. 1862 Mrs. H. Wood Mrs. Hallib. iii. xx, ‘It will be the working-out of my visions’, said Henry. 1889 Grove Dict. Mus. IV. 486/2 Working-out (also called Free Fantasia; and Development; Durchführung), the central division of a movement in Binary form, such as commonly occupies the first place in a modern sonata or symphony. 1894 C. N. Robinson Brit. Fleet 215 The working out of Descharge's idea revolutionized sea warfare. 1914 Brit. Mus. Return 184 The determination and working out of the Tabanidæ of Tropical Africa. 1936 Discovery Apr. 124/1 The music of Bach, with its perfect counterpoint and logical working-out. 1948 Penguin Music Mag. VII. 43 The..sleight-of-hand that Grieg saw fit to employ in a ‘working-out’. |
| 1960 C. Hamblett in J. Pudney Pick of Today's Short Stories XI. 143 The cops frisked him..hoping he would put up a fight, so they could give him a *working-over first. 1964 L. Deighton Funeral in Berlin viii. 55 A girl with too much make-up..gave her eyebrows a working over. |
| 1623 Cockeram ii, A *working together, cooperation. |
| 1678 Rymer Trag. Last Age 76 If the Poet observe not these measures, the *working up of a Scene, is plainly the tormenting of nature, and holding our ears to the Grindstone. 1817 J. Scott Paris Revisit. (ed. 4) 135 All..is done..under the force of artificial impulse, causing what is called a working-up. 1893 Daily News 6 Feb. 7/4 Best steel working-up sheets. 1913 Athenæum 10 May 528/1 A working-up to a strong climax. |
IV. 16. attrib. and
Comb. a. Simple
attrib.:
= of or for working or the performance of a certain work, as
working arrangement,
working bee,
working hour(s,
working humour,
working life,
working light,
working method,
working part,
working rate,
working talent,
working time,
working-week (
cf. working-day 2),
working week-day,
working year;
= used or worn when one is working, as
working apron,
working clothes,
working dress,
† working gear,
working instrument,
working model,
† working stole (
stool n. 6),
working stone,
working tool;
= pertaining or necessary to, involved in, the conduct of a business, etc., as
working capital,
working costs,
working expenses,
working fund;
= belonging to or situated in or at a working (sense 14), as
working breast,
working drift,
working face,
working floor,
working headway,
working pit.
b. Special comb.:
working-arch, a tymp-arch;
working-barrel, the cylinder in which the piston of a pump works;
working-beam, a walking beam;
working-big a. (see
quot.);
working-box,
= work-box (
work n. 34 d);
† working canvas, canvas upon which embroidery is worked;
working card U.S. obs. = union-card s.v. union n.1 11 c;
working copy, a copy of a book or other document used or annotated by someone working on its contents;
working cylinder (see
quots.);
working dinner: see
working lunch;
working door (see
quots.);
working drawing, usually
pl., the drawings made of the plan, etc. of a building from which the workmen employed carry out the construction of the work;
working heat (see
quot.);
working-hole, (
a) the opening in a furnace at which the melted glass is drawn out; (
b) any of the holes which bees use in working;
working load, the maximum load that a member in a machine or other structure is designed to bear;
working lunch, a lunch at which those present discuss business (so
working dinner);
working order, a condition in which a machine, system, etc. works (well, badly, etc.);
working outline, an outline which forms the basis of a finished drawing;
working place,
† (
a) a work-shop; (
b) the place at which a worker executes his work,
spec. that at which a miner is engaged in excavation;
working plan, a plan serving as the basis for the construction of a building, management of a project, etc.;
spec. in
Forestry (see
quots. 1895, 1926);
working point, the ‘point’ in a machine at which the useful work is done;
working rate (see
quot.);
working room, (
a) space in which one may work, room for the performance of work; (
b) a work-room;
† working school, a kind of industrial school;
† working-shop,
= workshop 1;
working space = working storage;
cf. work-space (
b)
s.v. work n. 34 d;
working storage, part of a computer's memory that is used by a program for the storage of intermediate results or other temporary items;
working surface = work-top s.v. work n. 34 d;
working title, a provisional title given to a book, film, or other work before the final title is settled;
working top = work top s.v. work n. 34 d;
working-tube, a glass-worker's blowing-iron;
working-tun, a vessel in which fermentation takes place.
| 1769 Lady M. Coke Jrnl. 4 May (1892) III. 67, I had but just time to throw off my *Working Apron. |
| 1853 Beil's Technol. Wbch., *Working arches.. of a blast furnace. |
| 1854 Household Narrative Apr. 80/2 He stated..that the more complete fusion of capital into one company ought not to be sanctioned, but that sort of combination known as *working arrangements should be encouraged. 1904 Windsor Mag. June 16/1 A simple working arrangement is usual based on a percentage division of the gross receipts between the two. 1970 New Yorker 29 Aug. 45/1 Jews and pagans would never get to Heaven, with the exception of..Moses, who had a close working arrangement with Allah. |
| 1797 Encycl. Brit. (ed. 3) XVII. 750/1 To return the pump pistons into their places at the bottom of their respective *working barrels, in order that they also may make a working stroke. |
| Ibid. 751/1 The rod X of the piston P is suspended from the arch of the *working-beam. |
| 1883 ‘A Lady’ Facts: or, Exper. Recent Colonist in N.Z. viii. 68 The ladies of the community..meet for a common cause..*Working bees are then got up. 1956 W. R. Bird Off-Trail in Nova Scotia i. 23 We were told much of working bees, barn raisings, the making of maple sugar. |
| 1849–50 Weale's Dict. Terms, *Working-big, in mining, signifies sufficiently large for a man to work in. |
| 1778 J. Woodforde Diary 9 Sept. (1924) I. 235 It..looks when covered like a *working Box for Ladies. 1838 in N. & Q. 11th Ser. I. 423 My small inlaid Working Box. |
| 1881 Raymond Mining Gloss., Put, to convey coal from the *working breast to the tramway. |
| 1612 Sc. Bk. Rates in Halyburton's Ledger (1867) 319 Linning cloth..*working canves for cusheonis. 1657 Acts of Interregn. (1911) II. 1213 Canvas called..Working Canvas for Cushions. |
| 1912 Pitman's Commerc. Encycl. IV. 1690 The *working capital of a business is the amount available for conducting its operations after it has been equipped in such a manner as to be in the condition desired in regard to fixed assets. |
| 1872 Pacific States Enterprise (San Francisco) 16 Mar. 3/1 They have adopted the ‘*working card’ system. 1874 Internat. Typogr. Union Proc. 34 Subordinate Unions are recommended to..enforce the ‘working-card’ system. 1896 Ibid. 35/2 It was agreed to issue him a working card. 1923 Proc. 43rd Convention Amer. Fed. of Labor 324/2 This resolution..affects such other organizations as they seek to affect with an exchange of working cards and other courtesies. |
| 1892 E. Reeves Homeward Bound 309 Dressed in ordinary *working clothes of varied colours. |
| 1897 W. C. Hazlitt Confessions of Collector vi. 100, I would gladly pay him a guinea for it, and find him a *working copy into the bargain. 1967 E. R. Lannon in Cox & Grose Organization & Handling Bibl. Rec. by Computer iv. 95 We can..print the dictionary in two forms; one form is referred to as the ‘Working Copy’ edition, intended for the use of our own editorial staff. |
| 1912 Times 19 Dec. 19/2 The *working costs, including the London expenses. |
| 1815 J. Smith Panorama Sci. & Art II. 143 Such low steam..being admitted into a steam-vessel.., or *working cylinder.., will there be expanded in any ratio required. 1853 Beil's Technol. Wbch., Working cylinder, principal cylinder of a water-pressure engine. |
| 1970 Daily Tel. 22 Sept. 1/8 Union chiefs and chairmen of five nationalised industries had a ‘*working dinner’..last night. |
| 1853 Beil's Technol. Wbch., *Working door of a reverberatory furnace (that opening through which the crucible is brought). 1877 Raymond Statist. Mines & Mining 393 The furnace has a working door at the side, and a charging door at the end. |
| 1832 Babbage Econ. Manuf. xxvii. (ed. 3) 262 The actual execution from *working drawings. 1887 D. A. Low Machine Draw. Pref. p. iv, The illustrations for this work..have been specially prepared by the author from working drawings. |
| 1853 Mrs. S. Moodie Life Clearings 59 Her coloured flannel *working-dress. |
| 1882 Rep. Ho. Repr. Prec. Met. U.S. 639 Further connections between these cross-drifts are made by *working-drifts parallel to the central one. |
| 1868 N. Amer. Rev. Jan. 46 Returns for *working expenses. |
| 1886 J. Barrowman Sc. Mining Terms 73 *Working face, the place where the miner is excavating the mineral. |
| 1914 Brit. Mus. Return 90 An important series of implements and flakes from *working-floors in or below brick-earth at Round Green near Luton. |
| 1905 ‘G. Thorne’ Lost Cause x, A contribution to the *working fund. |
| 1638 Knaresb. Wills (Surtees) II. 170 All my loume, *working geare and my husbandrie geare. 1640 Ibid. 174 All my working geare which belong to my trade. 1790 Act 30 Geo. III, c. 21 §1 To make, erect,..Water Wheels, Fire Engines, Mills, Machinery, Working Gears,..for raising..Water from the said River Wenson. |
| 1855 Orr's Circ. Sci., Inorg. Nat. 242 Running a gallery..above the *working headway to the highest place worked. |
| 1782 Phil. Trans. LXXII. 320 The fire is afterwards increased, for working the glass, to what is called the *working heat; and this I found, in plate-glass, to be 57°. |
| 1839 Ure Dict. Arts 577 Semi-circular holes..a little above the top of each pot, called *working holes. 1868 Rep. U.S. Comm. Agric. (1869) 276, I pack them [sc. bees] closely on benches in the cellar, leaving the box and working-holes open. |
| 1832 H. Martineau Hill & Valley vii, After *working hours the evening before. 1882 Besant All Sorts xxi. (1898) 154 His pay by the piece..gave him, as already stated, tenpence for every working hour. |
| 1840 Dickens Old C. Shop xxxv, I'm in a *working humour now,..so don't disturb me, if you please. |
| c 1440 Promp. Parv. 305/2 *Werkynge instrument for sylke women. |
| 1864 C. Knight (title) Passages of a *Working Life during half a century. |
| 1892 Photogr. Ann. II. 459 A square of ruby fabric admits a safe *working light. 1891 Kipling Light that Failed vi. 102 If there's a good working light to-morrow I lose a day. |
| 1875 Martin tr. Havrez's Winding Mach. 19 A round steel rope would bear a *working load of 13·158 kilogs. |
| 1964 Guardian 27 Oct. 18/6 After these meetings there was a ‘*working’ lunch at the British Embassy. |
| 1912 Nature 26 Dec. 460/1 Formulæ and tables selected from the *working methods of practical photographers. |
| 1966 H. Moore On Sculpture 247 The first maquette for the wood Interior Exterior Forms was produced in 1951, later the same year I made the *working model (24½ in. high), which was cast into bronze. 1982 Sunday Tel. (Colour Suppl.) 14 Nov. 33/1 Carvings were plastercast, moulds were taken and durable metal-alloy working models were made. |
| 1845 Knickerbocker XXVI. 410 The use of steam-pumps is requisite night and day, to keep them [sc. mines] in *working order. 1872 Chamb. Jrnl. 29 June 410/2 To see that the [telegraph] line is in working order. 1875 Higginson Hist. U.S. xviii. 178 They at once began to get the militia into good working order. 1883 D. C. Murray Hearts xiii, Mark took care that his appetite, usually in good working order, should be deranged by the emotions of the morning. |
| 1859 Gullick & Timbs Painting 147 A finished drawing of the full size being ready, a part of this ‘*working’ outline..is now nailed to the wall. |
| 1703 T. N. City & C. Purchaser 84 The *working part [of architecture] may be helped by deliberation. 1719 De Foe Crusoe i. (Globe) 72 The working Part of this Day. 1726 Leoni Alberti's Archit. I. 38 The whole Business of the working Part of building is this. |
| 1773 Gentl. Mag. XLIII. 617 [The fire] breaking down the..partition between the waste and the *working pit, made the most terrible explosion ever beheld. |
| 1554–5 in Feuillerat Revels Q. Mary (1914) 176, ij dozen of Russhes for the *working places of thoffice. 1580 Hollyband Treas. Fr. Tong, L'ouvroir d'vn chacun mestier, ou on besogne, a working place, a shop. 1827 Faraday Chem. Manip. xxi. (1842) 562 Besides the working-place.., another, unconnected with the busy part of the laboratory, should be appointed. 1839 Ure Dict. Arts 960 Each miner continues to advance his room or working-place. |
| 1880 ‘Mark Twain’ Tramp Abroad xxxiv. 370 The ghastly desolation of the place was as tremendously complete as if Doré had furnished the *working-plans for it. 1895 W. Schlich Man. Forestry III. iii. 173 Forest working plans regulate, according to time and locality, the management of forests in such a manner, that the objects of the industry are as fully as possible realized. 1926 Tansley & Chipp Study of Vegetation xi. 255 The Working Plan forms..a scheme for exploiting the forest whereby regeneration will keep pace with exploitation. 1983 National Trust Spring 10/1 Constructive, planned woodland management..only became possible after the war, and our oldest working plans are now barely thirty years old. |
| 1825 J. Nicholson Oper. Mech. 51 All the motion which has been accumulated on the fly during the whole progress of its accumulation, is exerted in an instant at the *working point. |
| 1886 J. Barrowman Sc. Mining Terms 73 *Working rate, the rate per ton paid to a miner. |
| 1775 Romans Florida App. 9 From Beak's-Key, to the Riding Rocks, and Roques, there is *working room plenty, and good anchorage. 1827 Faraday Chem. Manip. i. (1842) 16 There is working room all round it. 1898 Allbutt's Syst. Med. V. 258 The atmosphere of their working-rooms is so poisonous that birds die after being exposed to it for a fort⁓night. |
| 1787 Hawkins Life of Johnson 391 Dr. Madden, so well-known by his premiums for the encouragement of Protestant *working-schools in Ireland. |
| 1783 Phil. Trans. LXXIII. 450 The dust of a *working-shop. |
| 1954 *Working space [see surface sterilization s.v. surface n. 6 c]. 1973 M. Woodhouse Blue Bone vii. 63 The converted hold..had contained a full-sized billiards table. There was, at least, plenty of working space. |
| ? c 1475 Promp. Parv. 305/2 (Camb. MS.) Lyncet, a *werkynge stole. 1502 Privy Purse Exp. Eliz. of York (1830) 7 For the stuff and making of iiij working stoles for the Quene..vs. iiij d. 1530 Palsgr. 290/1 Workyng stole fore a sylkeman, mettier. |
| 1585 Higins Junius' Nomencl. 410/1 A *working stone: a stone that serueth to worke withall, as the whetstone. |
| 1954 Computers & Automation Dec. 23/1 *Working storage... Like a work⁓sheet in pencil and paper calculation. 1971 N. Chapin Computers xv. 445 In the operand data structures, programers commonly distinguish between constants that are not part of the program, working storage (for intermediate results and status or progress indicators), and input-output buffer areas. 1983 D. H. Sandars Computers Today v. 113 This total earnings figure is copied (instruction, 08) in address 15, which is the working storage area. |
| 1962 A. Wise Death's-Head iii. 23 The electric percolator standing on the formica *working-surface. 1970 Which? Sept. 279/1 Three of the small freezers..had laminated tops you could use as a working surface. |
| 1863 P. Barry Dockyard Econ. 218 The *working system of the Thames Company is contract between owner and ship⁓builder. |
| 1870 Emerson Soc. & Solit. iv. 66 The solid result depends on a few men with *working talent. |
| 1783 Jrnl. Ho. Comm. XLVII. 372/2 The *Working Time that is now lost in making up the Bundles. |
| 1940 R. Chandler Let. 27 June in Gardiner & Walker Raymond Chandler Speaking (1962) 211 The title of my book is not The Second Murderer. I used that for a while as a *working title, but I didn't like it. 1977 G. Fisher Villain of Piece iii. 32, I was now busy turning the whole caboodle into a series of four articles... I gave it a working title: ‘My Life with Britain's Top Villain’. |
| 1562 J. Heywood Prov. & Epigr. (1867) 101 Thou handledst no caruyng nor *woorkyng toole. 1690 Child Disc. Trade (1698) 182 Not to hinder any man from keeping as many servants as he can, nor looms, working-tools, &c. a 1728 Woodward Nat. Hist. Fossils 30 A people so barbarous, and destitute of all Working-Tools. 1869 Boutell Arms & Armour i. 3 Employing a second stone as his working-tool,..he struck off splinters from the first stone. |
| 1959 Housewife June 70/2 Table-top refrigerators are popular because they give an additional *working top. 1980 D. Clark Golden Rain v. 115 ‘Which cupboard please?’ ‘The last one under the working-top on the left.’ |
| 1845 G. Dodd Brit. Manuf. IV. 63 After the *working-tube has collected nearly sufficient colourless glass from one pot. |
| 1707 Mortimer Husb. 572 Covering your Fat close, that it [sc. yeast] fall not in your *Working-Tun. |
| 1890 J. E. C. Munro in Rep. Brit. Assoc. 472 If the *working week was reduced from 56½ to 48 hours. |
| 1867 A. J. Wilson Vashti xiv, She remarked that your eyes were, in comparison with other folks', what Sabbath is to *working week-days. |
| 1913 Times 13 Aug. 3/1 The *working years of life. |
▪ II. working, ppl. a. (
ˈwɜːkɪŋ)
[f. work v. + -ing2. (In several uses formerly often hyphened to the n.)] That works, in various senses.
1. a. Of a person, personal attribute, etc.: Active, operative; energetic.
Obs. or
arch.| 1387–8 T. Usk Test. Love ii. v. (Skeat) l. 43 He..that neither han lyf ne soule, ne ordinaunce of werchinge limmes. a 1586 Sidney Arcadia i. iii. (1912) 20 A woman..of so working a minde,..it was happie shee tooke a good course. 1635 F. White Sabbath Ep. Ded. 9 They command whatsoever their own working-heads affect. 1646 J. Whitaker Uzziah 14 He had a working head, and a dextrous hand. 1681 J. Flavel Meth. Grace xxviii. 476 The working-heads of the enemies of that State. 1706 ? Prior Ep. Elector Bavaria 58 Wks. 1907 II. 371 Preluding cannons tell th' approaching storm, And working armies take a dreadful form. 1820 Keats Ode to Psyche 60 A rosy sanctuary will I dress With the wreath'd trellis of a working brain. |
† b. Of a thing (
concr. or
abstr.): Operative, effective.
Obs.| 1586 Marlowe 1st Pt. Tamburl. ii. iii, You see, my Lord, what woorking woordes he hath. 1613 Shakes. Hen. VIII, Prol. 3 Things..Sad, high, and working, full of State and Woe. 1622 J. Taylor (Water P.) Shilling B 4, A gentle working Potion. 1644 Milton Areop. (Arb.) 49 Childish men, who have not the art to qualifie and prepare these working mineralls. 1654 E. Johnson Wonder-wkg. Provid. 16 This was the first working providence of Christ to stir up our English Nation. a 1709 J. Lister Autobiog. (1842) 43 Some working physic that might be likely to..remove the distemper. |
2. a. That works or labours;
esp. that works for an employer in a manual or industrial occupation (see also working-class, -man). Also
spec. of a girl or woman: that goes out to earn a living rather than remain at home, as;
working girl: also
euphem., a prostitute (
U.S. slang).
| 1639 G. Plattes Discov. Infin. Treas. Pref. C 4 b, How the working poore may be imployed in these new improvements. 1830 Poor Man's Guardian 31 Dec. 4/2 The evils that beset the working population. 1864 Ramsbottom Phases 23 Honest wortchin' folks one sees By scores reawnd th' Poor-law Office dur. 1865 Dickens Mut. Fr. II. iv. vi. 209, I am removed from you and your family by being a working girl. 1871 Smiles Charac. i. (1876) 25 The common body of working-people. 1889 [see sister n. 2]. 1913 Macewen Hist. Ch. Scot. I. xviii. 388 There must have been innumerable parishes which had no working parish priests. 1913 J. Vaizey College Girl ix. 119 ‘I shall have to earn money myself, so I want to pass all the exams. I can.’ The Percivals stared... They had never met a prospective working girl before! 1922 W. P. Ker Coll. Ess., Molière (1925) I. 352 Respectable advice to working playwrights. 1933 D. C. Peel Life's Enchanted Cup xv. 183 It was, perhaps, because she had known what it was to study in the intervals of tending children..that she could sympathise with working mothers. 1963 Times 2 Jan. 10/3 Many Australians had to take two jobs to make ends meet, and ‘there were any number of working wives’. 1970 O. Norton Dead on Prediction i. 7 I'm going to be a working girl again now. Doing some articles for Mercia, for a start. 1978 F. Weldon Praxis xx. 174 Praxis gave up her job: Ivor did not want a working wife. 1979 Arizona Daily Star 5 Aug. j 3/2 There were studies showing juvenile delinquents springing from single-parent or working-mother homes. |
| 1968 Current Slang (Univ. S. Dakota) Fall 52 Working girl, n., a prostitute. 1971 N.Y. Times 9 Aug. 33/5 They call themselves ‘working girls’... Their work is a ‘business’, or even..a ‘social service’... By the prostitute's code, prostitution is moral. 1984 Chicago Sun-Times 26 Mar. 12 U.S. Prostitutes has estimated that thousands of ‘working girls’ will travel to San Francisco for business generated by the convention. |
b. In contrast with: (
a) ‘master’, ‘managing’, etc., in designations of trade or occupation; (
b) ‘sleeping’, in reference to partners in a firm. Also in designations of persons or animals that work or are active in a special way.
| 1708 Lond. Gaz. No. 4436/3 He is by Trade a Working-Goldsmith. 1793–4 Matthews's Bristol Directory 78 Tanner, George, Working-cutler, Maryport-street. 1809 Malkin Gil Blas iv. vii. ¶2, I..became the working partner in a new firm. 1839 in Orders of Council Naval Service (1866) I. 478 The Working Petty Officers of the Royal Navy. 1855 Poultry Chron. II. 507 The working Committee of a show. 1865 Dickens Mut. Fr. i. vii, A working-jeweller population. 1874 Green Short Hist. x. §2. 747 Benjamin Franklin, who had risen from his position of a working printer in Philadelphia to high repute among scientific discoverers. 1898 Daily News 5 Jan. 2/4 Working homers, wonderful for their speed, such as are used on Government ships. 1908 Church Times 20 Mar. 374/1 Working House⁓keeper,..required by gentleman, to work..small house. |
c. working party: (
a)
Mil. a party of men detailed for a special piece of work outside their ordinary duties; (
b) a group of women, meeting to do work,
esp. sewing, for a good cause; (
c) a committee appointed to examine and report on a particular subject and to make recommendations based on its findings; (
d) a group of prisoners engaged on outdoor work,
freq. outside the perimeter of the prison.
| 1744 M. Bishop Life 204, I mounted Guard as Sergeant upon a working Party, and took them to a Mine, in order to work at a Sap. 1834–47 J. S. Macaulay Field Fortif. (1851) 171 The men who undertake a surprise may be divided into four parties: 1st, the guides and interpreters; 2nd, the combatants; 3rd, the troops to cover the retreat; 4th, the working party. 1876 C. M. Yonge Three Brides I. viii. 127 Cecil had offered to take Anne to see the working party, and let her assist thereat. 1900 ― Modern Broods vii. 72 The parish room, where the ladies were to hold a working party for the missions. 1946 Times 10 Jan. 2/3 The ‘working party’ is a device for securing the best possible guidance on the policies that should be adopted to bring an industry to the highest pitch of efficiency under private enterprise. 1948 Hansard Commons: Written Answers 8 Mar. 112 The Working Party on the Turn-Round of Shipping was set up to examine the causes of delay... Teams from the Working Party have visited the major ports. 1963 T. Parker Unknown Citizen v. 136 Charlie was out of the prison that day, on a working party at a farm some miles away. 1976 L. Kennedy Presumption of Innocence i. 46 One day at Parkhurst he walked away from an outside working-party... Although he was wearing prison overalls, no one paid any attention. 1981 E. Longford Queen Mother v. 82 The Queen and her working party met twice a week to make surgical dressings and comforters for the troops. 1982 Church Times 12 Nov. 1/3 The General Synod's Board of Education has set up a working party on independent schools which will look at the Independent sector in education ‘from a Christian perspective’. |
d. Of horses and cattle: Employed in work,
esp. in agricultural work. Also of dogs used for hunting, herding, guard duties, etc. Also
fig.| 1613 Liber Deposit. infra Archidiacon. Colcestrensem lf. 29 (MS.), The herbadg or pasture of anye workeing cattell. 1773 Pennsylv. Gaz. 21 Apr. Suppl. 1/2 To be sold..several pair of working oxen. 1801 Farmer's Mag. Apr. 224 Bean and pease-straw is the customary fodder of the working stock. c 1830 Glouc. Farm Rep. 19 in Libr. Usef. Knowl., Husb. III, Two colts are generally bred from the mares to keep up the stock of working-horses. 1890 ‘R. Boldrewood’ Col. Reformer xiii, Like an old working bullock in a lucerne field. 1897 Blackw. Mag. June 744/1 Notwithstanding the care most people take to buy pups of ‘good working parents’, it is the blood that tells. 1908 Animal Managem. 124 A working horse..will..swallow an inordinate quantity of water very rapidly. 1936 Times Lit. Suppl. 25 Jan. 73/2 The American husband (in fiction) is losing his working-dog quality, his ambition to toil. 1947 C. L. B. Hubbard (title) Working dogs of the world. 1982 G. Hammond Fair Game xi. 99 [The dog] went for the pigeon..and fetched it back... Miss Wyper was overwhelmed. This was her first introduction to the truly fulfilled dog, the working dog doing the job for which it was bred. |
e. Of a bee or ant: That is a ‘worker’.
| 1766 Compl. Farmer s.v. Queen-bee 6 H 1/2 Not only these common or working bees, but also the drones, or male bees. 1816 Kirby & Sp. Entomol. xxvii. (1818) II. 513 If we suppose them to know that the queen and working-grubs are originally the same. |
f. In comb.: Producing, creating.
| 1595 W. C. Polimanteia (1881) 82 Glittering hate-working gold. |
† 3. Aching, throbbing with pain.
Obs.| c 1460 Towneley Myst. vi. 8 Sore bonys, & warkand feete. c 1470 Henry Wallace iii. 204 With mony werkand wound. 1535 Stewart Cron. Scot. (Rolls) I. 75 Ay quhair tha hit makand ane werkand wound. |
4. Of the sea, etc.: Agitated, tossing.
poet.| 1581 A. Hall Iliad i. 6 The working sea I wil goe seeke in point of morning gray. Ibid. vii. 123 Much like the Ocean waue, Which working storme, not green, but black doth make y⊇ colour haue. 1621 W. Mason Ess. 23 The billowes of the working-sea that cannot rest. 1666 Dryden Ann. Mirab. clxxi, On Biscay's working-Bay. 1676 ― Aurengz. iv. i, A working Sea, remaining from a Storm. 1725 Pope Odyss. xii. 265 Oars they seize, Stretch to the stroke, and brush the working seas. 1934 Dylan Thomas in New Verse No. 9. 12 The dry Sargossa of the tomb Gives up its dust to such a working sea. |
5. Of liquor: Fermenting.
| 1675 Evelyn in J. Rose Engl. Vineyard 44 Some replenish their working Wines with Water only. |
6. Of the features of the face: Moving involuntarily or convulsively,
esp. as the result of emotion.
| 1753–4 Richardson Grandison II. xi. 75 That little witch, I have been watching her eyes, and every working muscle of her saucy face. 1838 Lytton Alice ix. iii, The smile vanished at once, as her eyes met his changed and working countenance. 1848 Dickens Dombey xi, The working lip was loosened; and the tears came streaming forth. 1865 ― Mut. Fr. iv. vii, ‘I heard of the outrage,’ said Bradley, trying to constrain his working mouth. |
7. a. Of an organism, a piece of machinery, etc.: That performs its function (
esp. in a specified manner); that ‘goes’ (as opposed to being stationary).
| 1608 Shakes. Per. v. i. 155 But are you flesh and bloud? Haue you a working pulse, and are no Fairie? 1769 Falconer Dict. Marine (1789), Vaisseau qui se manie bien, a good working ship; a ship that is easily managed and steered. 1770 J. Ferguson Introd. Electricity 134 A working model of the great crane at Bristol. 1822 C. F. Partington Hist. & Descr. Account Steam Engine i. 13 In the following year a working model of the above engine was submitted to the Royal Society. 1859 Newton's Lond. Jrnl. Arts 1 Feb. 115 Mr. J. A. Haswell exhibited a large working model of the new [railway-]switch. 1874 Raymond Statist. Mines & Mining 393 A continuous-working reverberatory furnace. |
b. Naut. applied to certain sails.
| 1882 Standard 11 Aug. 6/6 Lorna and Chittywee last, the latter with a large jackyardtopsail set, the others having working squareheaders. 1883 Harper's Mag. Aug. 450/2 Racing or working rigs. 1898 Ansted Dict. Sea Terms, Working foresail (in fore-and-aft rig), a foresail which runs on a horse. Working lug, the same as a standing lug; and it often has a boom. |
8. a. Of a majority: Sufficient to secure the passing of measures.
| 1858 Penny Cycl. 2nd Suppl. 495/2 With the command of a working majority of about a hundred in the House of Commons, Sir Robert Peel entered on the greatest period of his political career. a 1859 Macaulay Hist. Eng. xxiv. (1861) V. 131 It was not impossible that the servants of the Crown might, by prudent management, succeed in obtaining a working majority. |
b. Of a theory, etc.: That provides a basis upon which to work.
| 1849 Grote Greece ii. xlv. V. 399 The confederacy would never have become a working reality. 1871 R. H. Hutton Ess. I. v. 112 If it be only a working hypothesis, to keep us, while confined in the human, from blindly and unconsciously dashing ourselves against the laws of the divine. 1875 Maine Hist. Instit. xiii. 400 He wishes to alter..them according to a working rule gathered from his reflections. 1894 H. Drummond Ascent of Man 8 No one asks more of Evolution at present than permission to use it as a working theory. 1919 G. Huddleston Peacemaking at Paris ii. 25 To make a temporary treaty which would give us a working relationship with Germany. |
Hence
ˈworkingly adv.,
† effectively; industriously;
ˈworkingness,
† effectiveness.
| 1611 Florio, Operosita, workingnesse or operation. 1642 J. Eaton Honey-c. Free Justif. 269 Christ..in the residue of his whole life, afterwards fulfilled the whole Law, actually, workingly and perfectly. 1859 Atkinson Walks & Talks (1892) 291 Such pretty birds hammering away so cheerfully and workingly. |
Add:
[8.] c. Of a level of knowledge or expertise in a specified area,
esp. the use of a language: adequate for the purposes of day-to-day use; that one can work with.
| 1904 Westm. Gaz. 29 Dec. 2/1 A working knowledge of the technique of radio-therapy. 1926 Glasgow Herald 28 Feb. 9 The Linguaphone Institute has produced a system by means of which one can, in his own home, from book and gramophone record obtain a working knowledge of languages. 1959 ‘A. Burgess’ Beds in East vii, in Malayan Trilogy (1964) 453 I've no wish to be able to speak any of these languages with fluency: a working knowledge is all I aspire to. 1974 ‘S. Harvester’ Forgotten Road i. 11 He had a working acquaintance with dialects of most Kafir valley tribes, even Khowar and the almost extinct Domali language. 1985 Times 21 Mar. 33/2 (Advt.), The successful candidate will..be fluent in both written and spoken Spanish. A working knowledge of an additional language would be an added advantage. |