▪ I. warring, vbl. n.
(ˈwɔːrɪŋ)
[f. war v.1 + -ing1.]
The action of the verb.
| 13.. K. Alis. 6095 Ac, for they weore in the fen Kyng Alisaunder leoseth many men, Ac, allegate, the kynges Losen ten ageyns on in werrynges. c 1380 Wyclif Wks. (1880) 147 Þei techen cristen men to sufre..moche wakynge & dispisynge & betynge for to gete worldly honour & a litel drit bi fals werrynge out of charite. a 1450 Le Morte Arth. 2975 Arthur louyd noght but warynge. c 1450 Lovelich Merlin 12,022 To Socouren leodagan the kyng that jn his contre hath gret werryng. a 1625 Fletcher Hum. Lieut. ii. v, Leu. When was the Prince with her? answer me directly. Gov. Not since he went a warring. |
b. fig.
| 1511 Colet Serm. Convoc. A viij b, The warrynge of them is nat carnall but spirituall. For our warrynge is to pray, to rede and study scriptures [etc.]. 1884 Athenæum 5 Jan. 15/2 A sense of effort in reading a poem..arises from a warring between the rhythm of nature and the rhythm peculiar to the metrical structure adopted. |
▪ II. warring, ppl. a.
(ˈwɔːrɪŋ)
[f. war v.1 + -ing2.]
1. a. That makes or carries on war; that contends in warfare. (Now chiefly with plural subject and the implication ‘mutually’.)
| 1702 Rowe Tamerl. ii. i, Half the warring World upon thy Side. 1706 Prior Ode to Queen xxiii, Hence..Herbert's and Churchill's Warring Progeny. 1818 Byron Ch. Har. iv. lxiii, Such is the absorbing hate when warring nations meet! 1849 James Woodman i, The human vulture, which follows on the track of warring armies to feed upon the spoils of the dead. 1874 Green Short Hist. vi. §3. 295 The two warring lines were united by his [Henry VII] marriage with Elizabeth. 1907 Times 22 May 9/4 Our sword..stands between peace and the chaos of warring races. |
b. Warring States, used to designate the last period (475 b.c. onward) of Chinese history prior to the unification of the country in 221 b.c.
| 1929 J. Joshua tr. R. Wilhelm's Short Hist. Chinese Civilization iii. 133 The period of ‘the Warring States’..is usually regarded as lasting from 403 to 221 B.C. 1935 C. P. Fitzgerald China iii. 65 If the story of the period of the Warring States was merely a record of anarchy and violence it would not be worthy of detailed attention in a cultural history. 1937 R. W. Swallow Anc. Chinese Bronze Mirrors Pl. 3 (caption) Warring states type of mirror. 1963 Kwang-chih Chang Archaeol. Anc. China vii. 177 For our purposes, round figures are sufficient: 1100 for the conquest..450 for the beginning of the Warring-States period. 1978 Nagel's Encycl.-Guide: China 327 The names of the states of the Warring States period almost all survive as surnames now. |
2. fig. Engaged in strife, contending; esp. with plural subject, mutually contending, discordant. a. of the elements.
| 1608 Shakes. Lear iv. vii. 32 (Qtos.) Was this a face To be exposd against the warring [Fol. iarring] winds. 1697 Dryden Virg. Georg. i. 432 Oft have I seen a sudden Storm arise, From all the warring Winds that sweep the Skies. 1697 ― æneis i. 753 When Winds, and ev'ry warring Element, Disturb'd our Course. 1725 Pope Odyss. vi. 206 Twice ten tempestuous nights I roll'd, resign'd To roaring billows, and the warring wind. 1845 Darwin Voy. Nat. x. (1879) 217 How delightful was that still night, after having been so long involved in the din of the warring elements! 1912 L. Tracy Mirabel's Isl. i. (1915) 10 Ages of warring tides had thrust a deep-water passage..through the opposing barrier. |
b. of passions, etc.
| 1703 Rowe Fair Penit. ii. i, The warring Passions, and tumultuous Thoughts. 1706 Prior Ode to Queen vii, Betwixt Despair, and Rage, and Hope, and Pain, Something within his warring Bosom roll'd. 1791 Burns ‘Ae fond kiss’ 4 Warring sighs and groans I'll wage thee! |
c. of persons, parties, etc.
| 1883 Whitelaw Sophocles, Oedipus King 634 What means this senseless din of warring tongues? 1908 Times Lit. Suppl. 10 Sept. 290/1 It..would inevitably have offended one or other of the warring schools into which their flocks are divided. |