▪ I. hunting, vbl. n.
(ˈhʌntɪŋ)
[f. hunt v. + -ing1.]
1. The action of the verb hunt. a. The action or practice of chasing game or other wild animals, either for profit or sport; the chase; venery.
| c 1000 ælfric Colloq. in Wright Voc. 5 Hwæt dest þu be þinre huntunge? c 1205 Lay. 21342 He hafeð bihalues Baðen his huntinge bilæfued. c 1290 S. Eng. Leg. I. 349/148 Þat þis child scholde wende An hontingue. c 1375 Sc. Leg. Saints, Blasius 60 Þe president Til huntyne has his knychtis sent. 1484 Caxton Fables of Poge (1889) 4 The studye of the huntynge and hawkynge is a slouful cure. 1548 Hall Chron., Edw. IV 194 b, The king being on huntyng in the forest of Wychwod. 1696 tr. Duquesne's Voy. E. Ind. 134 No other Island..has better hunting. 1781 Gibbon Decl. & F. II. 112 Constans..was pursuing in the adjacent forest his favourite amusement of hunting. 1781 Beckford (title) Essays on Hunting. 1879 Sir G. Campbell White & Black 330 What they call ‘hunting’ in America is not hunting in our sense, but shooting; either ordinary shooting, or drives for big game. |
b. With
a and
pl. A hunt, a chase.
| a 950 Rit. Eccl. Dunelm. (Surtees) 118 Of hvntvngvm. c 1420 Anturs of Arth. lv, Suche a hunting in a holt, aw noȝte to be hidde. 15.. Chevy Chase i, A woeful hunting once there did In Chevy-chase befall. 1611 Speed Hist. Gt. Brit. viii. iii. (1632) 399 That vpon the Lords Sabbath, publike Faires..Huntings, and all secular actions should not be exercised. 1727 A. Hamilton New Acc. E. Ind. I. xxii. 263, I saw, in one of these Huntings, above a Dozen of Deer killed. 1871 Freeman Norm. Conq. IV. xx. 609 Services to be rendered in the royal huntings. |
c. The chasing of their prey by animals.
| 1382 Wyclif 1 Macc. iii. 4 As whelp of lyoun rorynge in his huntyng. 1665 Hooke Microgr. 202 These Spiders..are nothing so eager of hunting as they are in Italy. |
d. The action of chasing, pursuing or searching; a pursuit or search. Also with
adv. as
hunting-up,
hunting-down.
| 1542–5 Brinklow Lament. 4 a, Then will they ronne..a whore hountinge after their false prophetes. 1589 L. Wright (title) The Hunting of Antichrist. 1651 Hobbes Leviath. i. iii. 10 A hunting out of the causes. a 1700 B. E. Dict. Cant. Crew, Hunting, decoying, or drawing others into Play. 1796 Colquhoun Police Metrop. 403 The driving of Cattle improperly, usually termed bullock-hunting. 1876 C. M. Yonge Womankind xxiv. 204 A hunting-up of faults. 1901 Westm. Gaz. 7 Sept. 5/1 Sweeping movements will give place to hunting-down tactics where the country favours the latter. 1945 Tribune 9 Nov. 11/1 The hunting-down of war criminals. |
e. Change-ringing. (See
hunt v. 7.)
f. The action of a machine, instrument, system, etc., that is hunting (see
hunt v. 7 b); an undesirable oscillation about an equilibrium speed, position, or state.
| 1880 R. E. Crompton Electr. Light for Industr. Use 21 This causes a swinging or, as it is called by engine men, a ‘hunting’ action of the governor. 1894 Rep. Brit. Assoc. Adv. Sci. 759 If the isochronous governor works a slow-acting relay the hunting may be so serious that the steam supply alternates between complete cut-off and full supply. 1920 Whittaker's Electr. Engineer's Pocket-bk. (ed. 4) 223 If the damping is very small, oscillations or hunting may go on for a considerable time before the machine finally rotates steadily. 1932 Discovery Oct. 331/1 There was no suggestion of ‘hunting’ and the image remained exactly central in the [television] screen for the whole half hour. 1942 Rev. Sci. Instruments XIII. 218 The recording is easily accomplished at pen speeds of 12·7 cm per second across 25 cm of chart without ‘hunting’ taking place. 1943 Electronic Engin. XV. 438/2 A method for the determination of the power angle oscillations of a synchronous motor during hunting is described. 1950 Gloss. Aeronaut. Terms (B.S.I.) 8 Hunting, an uncontrolled oscillation about the flight path, the amplitude of which remains approximately constant. Ibid. 45 Hunting, angular oscillation of a [rotor] blade about the drag hinge. 1951 Engineering 6 Apr. 401/3 The train was derailed..because of a slight but periodic variation in the cant of the track which synchronised with the hunting periodicity of the engine. 1951 S. Deutsch Theory & Design Television Receivers xiii. 431 Hunting is revealed by a horizontal weaving or vibration of the picture. 1959 Times 27 Apr. (Rubber Industry Suppl.) p. vi/5 The control of the side-to-side swaying known to railway engineers as ‘hunting’. 1968 Practical Motorist Dec. 459/1 Hunting, a rhythmical increase and decrease in the idling speed of an engine, caused by an over-rich mixture. 1971 Nature 2 Apr. 283/1 Society, regarded as a non-linear feedback system, is showing the signs of oscillation (‘hunting’) which one expects. |
g. Telephony. An operation in which a selector or switch automatically goes through a group of lines until it reaches a free one and makes connection with it; now used
esp. of the connection of a calling line with one of a group of outgoing lines.
| 1912 J. Poole Pract. Telephone Handbk. (ed. 5) xxxii. 528 There is no ‘hunting’ for disengaged lines as in the case of selectors. 1933 K. B. Miller Telephone Theory & Pract. III. v. 263 Automatic trunk hunting may be necessary to find an idle line. 1966 Rubin & Haller Communication Switching Syst. i. 31 In the Ericsson 500-line switch..the select motion is a rotation and the hunting action is radially outward to a free trunk. |
† 2. concr. Game killed in hunting. (
Cf. venison.)
Obs.| c 1460 Towneley Myst. v. 19 Haue, ete, fader, of myn huntyng. 1608 Topsell Serpents (1658) 709 Pindus..did daily give unto him the greatest part of his hunting. |
3. attrib. and
Comb. a. General: Of, belonging to, used or worn in, adapted for, or engaged in hunting, as
hunting-bit,
hunting boat,
hunting-boot,
hunting-bout,
hunting bridle,
hunting-cap,
hunting carpet,
hunting-clothes,
hunting-coat,
hunting-country,
hunting-craft,
hunting-cry,
hunting-day,
hunting-dress,
hunting-excursion,
hunting-frock,
hunting-gear,
hunting-habit,
hunting-hat,
hunting-horse,
hunting-javelin,
hunting-knife,
hunting-language,
hunting-nag,
hunting-net,
hunting-party,
hunting path,
hunting-place,
hunting-pole,
hunting pony,
hunting print,
hunting rifle,
hunting-saddle,
hunting-season,
hunting-skirt,
hunting-spear,
hunting-spur,
hunting-staff,
hunting-sword,
hunting-term,
hunting-tide,
hunting tie,
hunting-toil,
hunting-voyage,
hunting-whip; for the accommodation of huntsmen, as
hunting-camp,
hunting-house,
hunting-lodge,
hunting tower, or of horses used in hunting, as
hunting-stable.
| 1696 Lond. Gaz. No. 3217/4 A white Leather Side Saddle, and *Hunting-Bit. |
| 1828 Western Monthly Rev. I. 577 The passengers of the *hunting boats..saw him. 1894 Hunting boat [see bidarka]. |
| 1895 Montgomery Ward Catal. 521/1 Men's black English grain leather ‘*hunting boots’, double sole, laced leg and instep. 1928 S. Sassoon Mem. Fox-Hunting Man 143, I was going to try on my new hunting clothes and my new hunting boots. 1957 M. B. Picken Fashion Dict. 181/2 Hunting boot, high, laced boot with waterproof sole. |
| 1715 Leoni Palladio's Archit. (1742) II. 83 Beasts..either for public *Hunting-bouts, or for the Shows in the Amphitheatres. |
| 1939–40 Army & Navy Stores Catal. p. xxxix, *Hunting bridles. 1963 Bloodgood & Santini Horseman's Dict. 111 Hunting bridle, any bridle suitable for hunting. 1963 E. H. Edwards Saddlery iii. 32 Hunting bridles should be made of leather having plenty of substance and the width of the cheek will probably be 3/4 in. with the rein. |
| 1770 Washington Writ. (1889) II. 310 The Indians..have their *hunting-camps and cabins all along the river. |
| 1814 J. Mayne Jrnl. (1909) 184 The postilions..do not, like our royal drivers, wear *hunting-caps. 1946 M. C. Self Horseman's Encycl. 219 Hunting cap, the velvet cap worn by farmers, Masters and Servants of the hunt. |
| 1931 A. U. Dilley Oriental Rugs & Carpets Pl. 9 (caption), Finest Extant *Hunting Carpet, Middle Sixteenth Century. 1960 H. Hayward Antique Coll. 146/1 Hunting carpets, Persian carpets with elaborate hunting scenes, realistically depicted. |
| 1625 K. Long tr. Barclay's Argenis iv. xiii. 282 Comming in his *hunting-clothes. |
| 1789 R. F. Greville Diary 16 Jan. (1930) 171 Asked Me if I had my *Hunting Coat with Me. 1909 Westm. Gaz. 9 Oct. 15/1 Ladies..may always choose a little, short coat, known to French tailors as a hunting coat. 1921 Daily Colonist (Victoria, B.C.) 15 Oct. 10/1 (Advt.), Pheasant Shooting Begins..Hunting Coats, with front and rear game pockets, {pstlg}8.75. 1928 S. Sassoon Mem. Fox-Hunting Man. 136 Stephen, who was wearing a pink silk cap and a long-skirted black hunting-coat, silently received from the groom the saddle and weight-cloth. |
| 1708 Lond. Gaz. No. 4439/4 An Estate..situated..in..a good *Hunting Country. 1946 M. C. Self Horseman's Encycl. 219 Nothing even faintly resembling the English hunting country exists in North America. |
| 1808 Scott Marm. i. viii, Each..Knew *hunting-craft by lake and wood. |
| 1864 Tennyson Aylmer's F. (ed. 1) ad. fin., There the thin weasel with faint *hunting-cry Follows the mouse. |
| 1859 ― Enid 165 Wearing neither *hunting-dress Nor weapon. |
| 1801 A. Mackenzie Voy. from Montreal 113 The Indians went on an *hunting excursion. 1856 M. J. Holmes 'Lena Rivers xxvi. 282 He had gone off on a hunting excursion. |
| c 1450 R. Gloucester's Chron. (1724) 482/2 (MS. Coll. Arms) Ofte holdeth he an honde swerdes, bowes, and *huntyngere. |
| 1711 *Hunting-habit [see habit n. 3]. 1881 Mrs. O'Donoghue Ladies on Horseback iii. vi. 83 If a hunting-habit be properly cut it will require no shotting. |
| Ibid. 253 That *hunting-hats frequently fall off. |
| 1565–73 Cooper Thesaurus s.v. Equus, Venator equus, a *hunting horse. 1686 Lond. Gaz. No. 2187/4 The keeping of Hunting-Horses. |
| 1686 J. Dunton Lett. fr. New-Eng. (1867) 277 Guides who will..oftentimes find out *Hunting-Houses, and other Lodgings at night. |
| 1625 K. Long tr. Barclay's Argenis iv. xiii. 282 In his hand he held his *hunting-javelin. |
| 1803 in Minnesota Hist. (1940) XXI. 126 When the defendant came to pierce his tent with his *hunting knife..the larger part of the goods had already been moved to the spot agreed upon. 1842 Mrs. Gore Fascin. 92 His girdle was garnished with horn-handled hunting-knives. 1933 B. Willoughby Alaskans All 3 His flannel shirt, high laced boots, the hunting-knife in his belt..made it difficult for me to realize he was a priest. 1949 Chicago Tribune 22 June ii. 1/4 A policeman took a 6 inch hunting knife from the waist of one of the white boys. |
| 1809 A. Henry Trav. 6 A solitary Indian *hunting-lodge, built with branches of trees. 1826 Miss Mitford Village Ser. ii. (1863) 253 The old manorial Hall..is cut down into a villa, or a hunting-lodge. |
| a 1680 Butler Rem. (1759) II. 81 Like a *Hunting-nag, [he] leaps over what he cannot get through. |
| 1788 W. Blane Hunt. Excurs. 3 His annual *hunting party. |
| 1820 in Minnesota Hist. (1942) XXIII. 249 We found a *hunting path which..led directly to Sandy Lake. 1821 T. Nuttall Jrnl. Trav. Arkansa 1819 167 We here crossed by a hunting path. |
| 1730 A. Gordon Maffei's Amphith. 96 Buildings into which Beasts were brought, which they called *Hunting-Places. |
| 1886 Outing Apr. 7/1, I was riding a well-trained *hunting pony. |
| 1967 N. Freeling Strike Out 72 He makes these series of kind of *huntin' prints. 1973 M. Mackintosh King & Two Queens v. 76 Eighteenth-century English hunting prints hung on the pine-panelled walls. |
| 1856 in Kansas State Hist. Soc. Trans. (1890) IV. 504 The marauders were well armed with muskets,..*hunting rifles,..bowie-knives, etc. 1886 Outing Mar. 615 No hunting-rifles in the world possess greater accuracy. 1956 ‘E. McBain’ Cop Hater (1963) xix. 143 He said he'd shot himself while cleaning his hunting rifle. |
| 1678 Lond. Gaz. No. 1274/4 A Black Gelding..having on him a *hunting Saddle, and a blew Saddle-Cloth. |
| 1730 A. Gordon Maffei's Amphith. 96 In the Canons of the Synod called Quinisestus, the *Hunting-Shews were prohibited. |
| 1810 Scott Lady of L. i. xxvii, A battle-axe, a *hunting-spear. |
| 1480 Wardr. Acc. Edw. IV (1830) 148 A paire of *hunting spurres parcelle gilt. |
| a 1649 Drummond of Hawthornden Hist. Jas. III Wks. (1711) 42 Sir Alexander Boyd..struck the reverend governour with a *hunting-staff upon the head. |
| 1869 Tennyson Pelleas & Ettarre 359 That all the old echoes hidden in the wall Rang out like hollow woods at *hunting-tide. |
| c 1840 Lady Wilton Art of Needlework xiii. 189 The Hibernian Tie: The Eastern Tie: *The Hunting Tie: The Yankee Tie. 1907 Yesterday's Shopping (1969) p. xxxix, Hunting ties, ladies’. |
| 1753 De Foe's Tour Gt. Brit. I. ii. 113 An Eminence, where now stands an *Hunting-tower of Brick. |
| 1683 Lond. Gaz. No. 1842/8 A long *Hunting-Whip, with an Ivory handle. 1859 Art Taming Horses ix. 149 Every hunting-whip should have a lash, but it need not be long. |
b. Special
Combs.:
hunting-box, a small house for occupation during the hunting season (see
box n.2 14);
hunting-case, a watch-case with a hinged cover to protect the glass (
orig. against accidents in hunting);
hunting-coal (see
quot.);
hunting-crop, a straight whipstock with a leather loop for insertion of a thong or lash (
crop n. 7 c);
hunting-field, the field or ground on which a hunt,
esp. a fox-hunt, is going on; also, the body of mounted huntsmen following the hounds;
hunting-flask, a flask for liquor, carried during hunting;
hunting-jug, a jug adorned with figures of huntsmen, horses, dogs, stags, etc.;
hunting leopard, the Cheetah (
Felis jubata), which is tamed and used in hunting in India;
† hunting mass = hunter's mass (see
hunter 5 d);
† hunting-match, a hunt taken part in by a number of persons;
† hunting oath, a bold or outspoken oath such as a huntsman might utter;
hunting-piece, a picture representing a hunting scene;
hunting-pudding = hunter's pudding (see
hunter 5 d);
hunting-seat, a country-house reserved for occupation during the hunting season;
hunting-shirt U.S., ‘a blowse or shirt originally made of deerskin and highly ornamented, worn by trappers, hunters and travellers on the Western frontier’ (Bartlett
Dict. Amer.);
hunting-song, a song sung during a hunt, or relating to hunting, usually characterized by melodic phrases imitating the sound of a hunting-horn; also applied to an instrumental composition of the same character;
† hunting tail, a horse's tail cut in the manner practised with horses used for hunting;
hunting tartan (see
quot. 1959); so
hunting Stewart tartan, etc.;
hunting-watch, a watch having a
hunting-case to protect the glass.
| 1799 Times 1 June 4/3 A Family Cottage, or *Hunting Box, pleasantly situate in a sporting part of the country. 1814 Jane Austen Mansf. Park III. x. 208 Some small hunting-box in the vicinity of every thing so dear. 1821 Byron Juan v. lx, Babel was Nimrod's hunting-box. 1838 Lytton Alice 131 The old admiral has a hunting-box in the neighbourhood. |
| 1883 Standard 16 Jan. 2/4 *Hunting coal was what was left after general workings. 1857 *Hunting-crop [see crop n. 7 c]. 1881 Mrs. O'Donoghue Ladies on Horseback 218 A short hunting-crop without a lash would do. 1890 Boldrewood Col. Reformer (1891) 217 Light hunting crops having slender thongs. |
| c 1680 Dk. York in J. Taylor Scot. Covenant. (Cassell) 117 There would never be peace in Scotland till the whole of the country south of the Forth was turned into a *hunting-field. 1846–83 R. E. Egerton-Warburton Hunt. Songs lxxxi. (ed. 7) 218 Each in turn first and foremost the hunting field led. 1859 Art Taming Horses i. 22 [His] equestrian performances on the course and in the hunting-field. a 1899 Mod. He lost his life accidentally in the hunting-field. |
| 1824 Scott St. Ronan's vii, He has a *hunting-flask usually about him, which contains as good medicine as yours to the full. |
| 1781 Phil. Trans. LXXI. 2 The *hunting Leopard, or Indian Chittah. 1881 Hunter Gaz. Ind. IV. 619 The cheetah or hunting leopard must be carefully distinguished from the leopard proper. |
| 1597 Jas. I. Demonol. i. v. 18 Like a Papist Priest, dispatching a *hunting Masse. 1845 Neale Mirror Faith 15 King Oswald heareth hunting-mass. |
| a 1637 B. Jonson Discov., Socrates Wks. (Rtldg.) 764/2 What neede wee know any thing..more then a horse-race, or a *hunting-match. 1708 Swift Predict., Not daring to propose a hunting-match. |
| 1563–87 Foxe A. & M. (1631) III. x. 106/1 Swearing and raging with an *hunting oath or two. |
| 1765 H. Walpole in Lett. C'tess Suffolk (1824) II. 314 Huge *hunting-pieces in frames of all-coloured golds. |
| 1785 A. M. Bennett Juv. Indiscretions (1786) IV. 26 She was famous for making *hunting puddings. |
| 1716 Addison Freeholder No. 22 ¶2 A Traveller..who had..lost his *Hunting-Seat. 1740 Gray Let. Poems (1775) 79 A house built by one of the Grand Dukes for a hunting-seat. |
| 1775 J. Trumbull in Sparks Corr. Amer. Rev. (1853) I. 32, I have ordered our Commissaries..to send to your camp all the *hunting-shirts they can procure. 1876 Bancroft Hist. U.S. IV. xv. 419 The hardy backwoodsman, clad in a hunting-shirt and deerskin leggins. |
| 1727 Somerville Poems (1790) I. 254 *Hunting-song. 1846–83 R. E. Egerton-Warburton Hunt. Songs (ed. 7) Introd. 9 An inappropriate introduction to a new edition of these Hunting Songs. |
| 1686 Lond. Gaz. No. 2163/4 A brown bay Mare..with a *Hunting-Tail. |
| 1855 A. Stanley Let. 8 Sept. (1927) iii. 74 The carpets are Royal Stewart Tartan and green *Hunting Stewart [tartan]. 1864 Queen Victoria Let. 26 Mar. in R. Fulford Dearest Mama (1968) 312 What is Anna's dress made of? I am going to send her a Hunting Stewart velvet. 1871 Monthly Packet Oct. 396 Their new winter frocks of Hunting Stewart tartan. 1959 Bain & MacDougall Clans & Tartans (ed. 4) 28 Hunting tartans are worn for sport and outdoor activities. Brown or some other dark hue is the predominant colour. When a Clan possessed a brightly coloured tartan it was unsuitable for hunting purposes, and hunting setts [patterns] were devised to make the wearer less conspicuous. The colours were arranged so that, when concealed in the heather, the tartan blended with the surroundings. 1969 O. Hesky Sequin Syndicate x. 102 A kimono in the colours of the Royal Stuart hunting tartan. |
| 1844 Dickens Mart. Chuz. xiii, A gold *hunting-watch..capped and jewelled in four holes. |
▪ II. ˈhunting, ppl. a. [f. hunt v. + -ing2.] a. That hunts: see the verb. (In
quot. 1340
absol. as n.)
| a 1340 Hampole Psalter cxxiii. 6 Fra þe snare of huntand. 1682 T. A. Carolina 21 One hunting Indian. 1859 Art Taming Horses viii. 134 Hunting farmers and hunting country surgeons. Ibid. ix. 148 The ‘Napoleons’ of hunting ladies. 1887 R. Abbay White Mare Whitestonecliff 173 The huntingest squire In the huntingest shire. |
b. In special collocations (often hyphened): as
hunting-cog (see
cog n.2 1);
hunting-man, a man addicted to hunting;
hunting spider, a spider that hunts its prey instead of lying in wait for it;
hunting wasp, a wasp that preys upon other insects.
| 1665 Hooke Microgr. 199 Not unlike a hunting Spider. 1812–16 J. Smith Panorama Sc. & Art I. 352 It is a useful precaution..to give the wheel what is called a hunting-cog; that is, one cog more than what will answer to an exact division of the wheel by the trundle. This being done, every cog..will take the next staff or round behind the one which it took in the former revolution. 1859 Art Taming Horses i. 21 Almost every distinguished horseman and hunting-man in the three kingdoms. 1885 New Bk. Sports 1 As well as a hunting-man knows his country. 1916 A. T. de Mattos tr. J. H. Fabre (title) The hunting wasp. 1925 R. W. G. Hingston in E. F. Norton Fight for Everest, 1924 287 Beetles and hunting-spiders found a shelter on it [sc. a moraine]. 1928 ― Problems of Instinct 100 Hunting wasps..sting their victims with surgical precision. 1941 W. S. Bristowe Comity of Spiders II. v. 230 Some of these hunting spiders seek their prey by day and others by night. 1948 ‘J. Crompton’ Hunting Wasp i. 17 A large number of the hunting wasps sing at their work. 1964 V. B. Wigglesworth Life of Insects xiii. 227 The hunting wasp Philanthus stocks its solitary nest solely with honey-bees. 1966 E. Palmer Plains of Camdeboo xiv. 233 On the farm we know most of the diurnal species as jagspinnekoppe or hunting spiders. |