▪ I. ˈfollowing, pres. pple.
of follow v., loosely used as quasi-prep.: as a sequel to, in succession to (an event), after.
| 1947 Evening News 11 Dec., The prologue was written by the company following an incident witnessed by them during anti-Jewish demonstrations following the hanging of two British soldiers in Palestine. 1948 E. Gowers Plain Words 56 Perhaps the fight against following as a preposition ought to be regarded as lost. 1968 Observer 24 Mar. 6/4 Used car prices are going up, following the Budget. |
▪ II. following, vbl. n.
(ˈfɒləʊɪŋ)
[f. as prec. + -ing1.]
1. The action of the verb follow, in its various uses. Also with advs., as following up.
| a 1300 Cursor M. 27832 (Cott.) O couaitise..cums..fals foluing, fals wittnesing. 1435 Misyn Fire of Love 66 In filoing of vertew. 1562 39 Articles No. 9 Originall sinne standeth not in the following of Adam. 1649 Drummond of Hawthornden Hist. Jas. V Wks. (1711) 107 That the chace and following of hereticks is more necessary than that of infidels. 1801 Strutt Sports & Past. i. i. 13 Queen Elizabeth..frequently indulged herself in following of the hounds. 1875 Whitney Life Lang. viii. 143 The following-up of a series of acts. |
2. concr. A body of followers, attendants, retainers or adherents; followers collectively.
| c 1450 Mirour Saluacioun 1865 Abraham and his fylowing discomfit thaym be gods grace. 1695 Blair in Blackmore's Hist. Conspir. (1723) 117 He was a Man of great following and Interest in his Country. 1715 Wodrow Corr. (1843) II. 88 He reckons Mar's following must decrease. 1816 Scott Old Mort. xxvi. 191 The unfortunate Duke of Monmouth, who had..a numerous following, as it was called, in the southern parts of that kingdom. a 1859 Macaulay Hist. Eng. V. 110 Such a man, with a great name in the country and a strong following in Parliament. 1889 Jessopp Coming of Friars i. 39 [They] started lectures and secured a large following. |
▪ III. ˈfollowing, ppl. a.
[f. as prec. + -ing2.]
1. That follows or moves after another.
| 1626 Bacon Sylva §844 By the more Equall spreading of the Tangible Parts, which thereby are more Sliding and Following. 1715–20 Pope Iliad xiv. 489 His following shield the fallen chief o'erspread. 1796–7 Instr. & Reg. Cavalry (1813) 125 The three's wheel from the pivot flank, which then becomes the following one. |
2. That comes after or next in order or in time; succeeding, subsequent, ensuing.
In most collocations placed indifferently before or after the n.; as, in the following year, in the year following.
| a 1300 Cursor M. 11378 (Cott.) Þe nest yeire foluand. c 1330 R. Brunne Chron. (1810) 87 In þe ȝere folowand. c 1430 Mandeville (Roxb.) xxiv. 110 On þe nyght next folowand. 1535 Coverdale 2 Macc. xii. 39 Vpon the daye folowinge. 1667 Milton P.L. x. 278 Living Carcasses design'd For death, the following day, in bloodie fight. 1742 Johnson L.P., Sydenham, To continue the same office upon all following occasions. 1829 Marryat F. Mildmay xxii, They were asked in church the Sunday following. 1860 Tyndall Glac. i. viii. 57 Early on the following day. 1875 Whitney Life Lang. iv. 46 A sibilant with following palatal mute. |
b. In introducing a statement, enumeration, etc.: That now follows; that is immediately to be set forth, mentioned, recounted, or the like. Also absol. (the following).
| 1340 Ayenb. 1 Þis byeþ þe capiteles of þe boc uolȝinde. 1545–8 Yorksh. Chantry Surv. 11 (Surtees) 461 In thandes of the personnes foloing. 1626 Bacon Sylva §846 They are all but the effects of some of these causes following. 1653 Walton Angler To Rdr., I think fit to tell thee these following truths. 1711 Steele Spect. No. 152 ¶2 My Friend answered what I said in the following manner. 1794 Sullivan View Nat. I. 225 The following..may not, as an example, be unworthy of notice. 1807 T. Thomson Chem. II. 148 The following bodies have the property of converting nitric oxide into nitrous oxide. 1841 Lane Arab. Nts. I. 123 Among the common dishes are the following. |
c. Ensuing as an effect or consequence, resulting.
| 1593 Shakes. Lucr. 166 In his inward mind he doth debate, What following sorrow may on this arise. 1687 Shadwell Juvenal x. 46 The Conquerors used to put the following spoyls upon the stumps of Trees, which were call'd Trophies. |
† 3. Conformable, correspondent. answerable.
| c 1340 Gaw. & Gr. Knt. 145 His wombe & his wast were worthily smale, & alle his fetures folȝande. Ibid. 859 Tapytez tyȝt to þe woȝe, of tuly & tars, & vnder fete, on þe flet, of folȝande sute. |
4. Of wind or tide: ? Moving in the direction of the ship's course. (Cf. L. ventus secundus.)
| 1807 J. Boone in Naval Chron. XXIII. 406 She was assisted by a high following sea. 1839 Marryat Phant. Ship viii, You may sail for weeks with a cloudless sky and a following breeze, without starting tack or sheet. 1858 W. Cook in Merc. Marine Mag. V. 42 We had a following sea previous to falling in with this mist, but the sea then changed to a kind of boil, or topping sea. |
5. Billiards and Croquet. following stroke = follow n. 2.
| 1867 Dufton Pract. Billiards iii. 45. 1868 W. J. Whitmore Croquet Tac. 15 In making a following stroke, the player must follow with the mallet head, as a person follows with the cue at billiards. 1884 [See follow v. 19 a]. |
6. In various technical usages.
| 1839 Ure Dict. Arts 979 When a coal has a following or roof stone, which regularly separates with the coal. 1883 Gresley Gloss. Coal-m., Following dirt, loose shale, etc., in a thin bed forming the roof of a coal seam. Ibid., Following-up bank, a breadth of about 6 yards of coal taken off on either side of a leading bank. 1888 Lockwood's Dict. Mech. Engin., Following edge, that edge of the blade of a screw propeller which leaves the water behind it, as distinguished from the leading edge. Following joints. The rings of which cylindrical boilers are built, being lap jointed, fit one within the other. Instead, therefore, of being parallel cylinders, they are necessarily frustra of cones, and as the joints all lap in one direction, they are termed following joints. Following steady, a steady which is attached to the back of the side rest of a lathe, and which embraces the work behind or after the tool and follows it along with the rest. 1967 Gloss. Mining Terms (B.S.I.) xi. 8 Following roof, a layer of roof which falls as coal is excavated, or soon after. |