▪ I. abiding, vbl. n.
(əˈbaɪdɪŋ)
Also abidyng(e, abyd-yng(e, -ing(e.
[f. abide v. + -ing1.]
The action or state of one who abides.
† 1. An awaiting, expecting, looking-for, lying-in-wait-for; expectation, waiting. Obs.
| a 1300 Northern Psalter xxxviii. 8 And now, whilk es min abiding dai? Noght ne Laverd? (Vulg. Et nunc quae est expectatio mea?) 1382 Wyclif ibid. And now what is myn abiding? whether not the Lord? c 1430 Syr Generides 234 And that is al his abiding, For to be wedded as a king. c 1450 Lonelich Graal II. 381 As thowgh nothing that they wyste of owre abydyng. 1599 Hakluyt Voyages II. i. 67 Thus in abiding for the Duke of Berrie, and for the Constable, who were behind. |
† 2. A waiting at a point, stopping, cessation, pausing; pause, delay. Obs.
| c 1400 Tundale Circumc. 86 All abowet the rede blode can gon, Withowt abydyng. c 1450 Merlin (1877) xv. 256 Thei made no lenger abidinge but mette togeder fiercely. 1480 Caxton Chron. Engl. ccxxi. 213 They shold smyte of syr edmondes hede..withoute any maner of abydyng or respyte. |
† 3. A bearing or enduring; endurance, patience, long-suffering. Obs.
| c 1325 E.E. Allit. P. C. 419 Þy long abydyng wyth lur [= loss], þy late vengaunce. 1535 Coverdale Ps. ix. 18 The pacient abydinge of soch as be in trouble shall not perish for euer. 1580 Hollyband Treas. Fr. Tong., Patience, patience, abiding. |
4. An enduring, continuing, or remaining; continuance, duration, permanence. arch.
| 1535 Coverdale 1 Chron. xxix. 15 Our life vpon earthe is as a shadowe, and here is no abydinge. 1611 Bible ibid. And there is none abiding. 1674 N. Fairfax Bulk & Selvedge 26 It cannot be thought that two abidings or durations, to wit, time and everlastingness, should be together and not be the same abiding. |
5. A remaining, tarrying, staying, residing, or dwelling at a place.
| c 1440 Generydes (1873) 131 The wordis that she sayde of his abiding there. 1616 Surfl. & Markh. Countrey Farme 719 Her quiet and peaceable abiding in her cage. 1808 Scott Marm. ii. xiv. Nor long was his abiding there. |
† 6. A place where one stops; a station or position. Obs.
| 1571 Digges Geomet. Pract. i. xxviii. sig. i i, The seconde station M, where ye shal now set the centre of your instrument, the diameter lying right agaynst your first abyding. |
† 7. A place where one habitually remains or resides; abode, habitation, dwelling. Obs.
| 1382 Wyclif 1 Esdras ix. 37 The sonus of Irael weren in ther abidingus [1388 abidyngis]. 1587 Fleming Contin. Holinshed III. 1406/2 Neereness and commoditie of mens abidings. 1607 Dekker Knight coniuring (1842) 87 Get leaue for thy ghost to come from her abiding. |
8. attrib. as in abiding house, abiding city, and esp. abiding-place, place of abode.
| 1571 Digges Geomet. Pract. i. xxviii. A B C are the markes in the fielde to be measured, D the first abyding or standing place. 1580 Hollyband Treas. Fr. Tong., Lieu de Demeure, dwelling, abiding place. 1597–8 Stat. 39 Eliz. v. An Acte for erecting of Hospitalles, or abiding and working Howses for the poor. 1805 Southey Madoc in Azt. Wks. 1853 V. 206 Here had the chief Chosen his abiding place. 1876 Freeman Norm. Conq. I. vi. 424 Next year Cnut came back to England as his real home and abiding place. 1879 Dowden Southey iii. 52 But his heart needed an abiding-place. |
▪ II. abiding, ppl. a.
(əˈbaɪdɪŋ)
[f. abide v. + -ing2.]
† 1. Enduring, standing firm. Obs.
| 1377 Langl. P. Pl. B. xix. 289 Bolde and abidynge bismeres to suffre. |
2. Lasting, permanent.
| 1851 Maurice Proph. & Kings 81 The ark..was there as an abiding witness of an invisible presence. 1876 Freeman Norm. Conq. I. vi. 462 Witness to the abiding connexion between Normandy and the North. 1878 A. J. Church Stories from Virgil v. 45 The abiding love of her that was once Hector's wife. |
3. Comb. law-abiding, adhering to the law.
| 1876 Freeman Norm. Conq. I. vi. 501 An English patriot who on every other occasion appears as conciliatory and law-abiding. 1879 T. H. S. Escott Eng. ii. 498 The colonists are law-abiding and law-loving people. |