▪ I. sobbing, vbl. n.
(ˈsɒbɪŋ)
[f. sob v.1 + -ing1.]
The action of giving vent to sobs; the sound produced by this. Also freq. in pl.
| sing. c 1300 Havelok 234 Þer was sobbing, siking, and sor. 1340 Ayenb. 211 Saint gregorie zaiþ þet zoþliche bidde god is biter zobbinge of uorþenchinge. c 1400 Destr. Troy 3615 Þerfore sobbyng & sorow ses at þis tyme. c 1475 Henryson Orpheus & Eurydice (B) 151 Thar was na solace mycht his sobbing cess. 1526 Skelton Magnyf. 1877, I pray the,..let be thy sobbynge. 1582 Stanyhurst æneis ii. (Arb.) 68 In vayne with sobbing was oft that od eccho repeated. 1603 Knolles Hist. Turks (1638) 46 Andronicus..comming vnto his presence..with sobbing and teares. 1697 Dryden Virg. Georg. iii. 755 He deeply groans With patient Sobbing. 1774 Goldsm. Nat. Hist. (1824) I. 211 Sobbing is the sigh still more invigorated. 1835 T. Mitchell Aristoph. Acharn. 629 note, The act of sobbing follows that of weeping and tearing the hair. 1876 M. Foster Physiol. ii. ii. (1879) 356 In sobbing a series of..convulsive inspirations follow each other slowly, the glottis being closed earlier than in the case of hiccough. |
| transf. 1607 Topsell Four-f. Beasts (1658) 339 The sobbing in the stomach, called the ‘hicket’. |
| pl. c 1440 Jacob's Well (1897) 12 He hadde swyche sorwe, syȝhynges, & sobbynges in þe throte. 1630 Drummond of Hawthornden Flowers of Sion 26 The hoarse Sobbings of the widow'd Doue. 1711 Addison Spect. No. 164 ¶5 His Voice, which was broke with Sighs and Sobbings. 1760–72 H. Brooke Fool of Qual. (1809) II. 102, I heard the bitter sobbings of the servants. 1836 E. Howard R. Reefer x, I..felt all happiness amidst my sobbings. |
▪ II. sobbing, ppl. a.
(ˈsɒbɪŋ)
[f. sob v.1 + -ing2.]
1. Uttering, giving vent to, sobs. Also, of the voice: Broken by sobs.
| a 1200 Vices & Virtues 85 Þohtes of soðe bereusinge, ðe makieð ðe herte sari and sobbiende. 1451 J. Capgrave Life St. Aug. 22 With ful sobbyng voys uttirryng all þese wordes. a 1586 Sidney Ps. vi. vii, God hath heard the weeping sobbing voice Of my complayning. 1600 Shakes. A.Y.L. ii. i. 66 Weeping and commenting Vpon the sobbing Deere. 1820 Shelley Prometh. Unb. i. 455 Some struck and sobbing fawn. 1865 Dickens Mut. Fr. iii. i, With a sobbing gaslight in the counting-house window. 1895 Westm. Gaz. 14 May 2/2 There were sobbing sides amongst the best when we reached the foot of the Pass. |
2. Of the nature of a sob or sobs.
| 1871 Standard 23 Jan., She gave a sobbing sigh, and fell..insensible. 1894 A. Robertson Nuggets 209 A low sobbing sound caught my ear. |