▪ I. ˈmating, vbl. n.1
[-ing1.]
The action of mate v.1; checkmating. Also attrib.
| c 1330 R. Brunne Chron. Wace (Rolls) 11399 At ilka mattyng [v.r. matyng] þei seide ‘chek’. c 1407 Lydg. Reas. & Sens. 46 Ye shal fynde anoone ryght By and by in this scripture Of my matynge the Aventure. c 1440 Promp. Parv. 329/2 Matynge at the chesse, matacio. 1592 G. Harvey New Letter Wks. (Grosart) I. 275 In a mating age, none are free from the check, but kinges. a 1649 Drummond of Hawthornden Fam. Epist. Wks. (1711) 146 The mating of the king is the conclusion of the game [of chess]. 1908 Westm. Gaz. 12 Aug. 7/3 Mackenzie ran into a mating net with Gunsberg in a lively game. 1968 S. Morrison Chess vi. 52 Black would reply 10..K-R3 and..escapes the mating net. |
▪ II. mating, vbl. n.2
(ˈmeɪtɪŋ)
[f. mate v.2 + -ing1.]
a. The action of mate v.2; matching; marrying; pairing; esp. of birds (occas. with up). Also attrib., as mating-ground.
| 1621 R. Brathwait Natures Embass. Sheph. Tales 213 So shall we Honor'd be, In our mating, in our meeting. 1856 Kane Arct. Expl. I. xxi. 268 A solitary pair, who seem to have left their fellows for this far northern mating-ground. 1875 Jowett Plato (ed. 2) III. 61 Do you [a breeder of birds and animals] not take the greatest care in the mating? 1888 W. Day Horse xviii. 239 The management of mares at the mating season, and during the period of gestation, is a subject requiring more than mere passing notice. 1896 Westm. Gaz. 28 May 3/1 The mating of the blue gown with the pink or crimson hat is eminently smart. 1899 Feathered World 10 Mar. 474 Having described the mating-up of the breeding pens of pure brown-reds. 1905 E. Wharton House of Mirth ii. xiii. 500 The blind motions of her mating instinct. 1919 T. S. Eliot Hippopotamus in Poems, At mating time the hippo's voice Betrays inflexions hoarse and odd. 1936 Brit. Birds XXIX. 307 The ‘mating rite’ is performed only on the nest. 1936 Discovery Oct. 307/2 During the mating season, its call is startling. 1938 Proc. Amer. Philos. Soc. LXXXIX. 412 As conjugation takes place usually or only between individuals of diverse types, these types will be referred to as mating types. 1953 D. A. Bannerman Birds Brit. Isles I. 78 The mating-call..can be heard all this time. 1960 G. Blanchet Search in North xi. 142 The nesting season..was already ended, the mating songs were no longer heard and the young..on the wing. 1962 Times 30 Mar. 15/4 The mating-call or whistle of the juvenile ‘wolf’. 1973 Country Life 29 Nov. 1848/2 The condition of the ewes by the end of mating time should be at least maintained for the first half of pregnancy. |
b. Fishing. (See quot.)
| 1887 Goode, etc. Fisheries U.S. Sect. v. II. 259 Sometimes two or more crews belonging to different vessels unite in the capture, and if successful an equitable division of the oil is afterward made. This is called ‘mating’. |
▪ III. ˈmating, ppl. a.
[f. mate v.2 + -ing2.]
That mates; pairing.
| 1870 F. W. H. Myers Poems 100 No ringdove murmurs on the hill Nor mating cushat calls. 1903 Westm. Gaz. 11 Feb. 2/3 Sing more softly for his sake, you mating birds on bough. 1941 N. H. Anderson Aircraft Layout iv. 99 Dural mating parts should not be used in bearings. 1967 M. Chandler Ceramics in Mod. World iv. 129 Yet another method is to fire the rings separately, then grind the mating surfaces and join them with an epoxy resin adhesive. |