▪ I. burning, vbl. n.
(ˈbɜːnɪŋ)
Forms: see burn v.1
[f. burn v.1+ -ing1.]
The action of the verb burn in its various senses.
I. Connected with the intr. senses of the verb.
1. a. The condition of being on fire; the action of sending up flames; hence concr. flame. Cf. 5 b.
| a 1300 Cursor M. 2875 Þe fire it haldes þar stedfast, thoru brennyng of þe brinstane. c 1449 Pecock Repr. 358 Brennyng of Laumpis. 1526 Pilgr. Perf. (W. de W. 1531) 39 Flamynge in fyre as though all the kechyn had ben in brennynge. 1592 Shakes. Rom. & Jul. i. ii. 45 Tut, man! one fire burnes out anothers burning. 1695 Blackmore Pr. Arthur iii. 711 The troubled whirlpool belches Burnings out. 1805 Wordsw. Waggoner i. 169 A burning of portentous red. |
b. fig. The intensity of passion; the state of being inflamed with grief, rage, desire, etc. Also in comb., as heart-burning.
| 1398 Trevisa Barth. De P.R. ii. vii. (1495) 33 Seraphin passyth other angels in brennynge of loue. a 1400 Relig. Pieces fr. Thornton MS. (1867) 22 All þat kyndills þi lykynge in brynnynge of charite. 1633 P. Fletcher Poet. Misc. 80 All his verses turning Onely fann'd his poore hearts burning. 1643 Milton Divorce i. iv, That burning mentioned by St. Paul, wherof Marriage ought to be the remedy. 1822 Scott Nigel i, While these heart-burnings were at their highest. |
2. Heat, glowing warmth.
| 1513 Douglas æneis xiii. Prol. 23 The recent dew begynnis doun to scaill To meys the byrnyng quhar the son had schine. 1592 Shakes. Ven. & Ad. 50 She with her teares Doth quench the maiden burning of his cheekes. |
3. Phosphorescence of the sea; = briming. Cf. also briny a. 2
| 1667 H. Stubbe in Phil. Trans. II. 497 As to the Burning of the Sea, I could never observe so great a Light, as to perceive Fishes in the Sea. 1753 Chambers Cycl. Supp. s.v., The burning of sea water..its yielding a brisk light. |
† 4. Heat attendant upon disease or a serpent's bite; the disease itself; esp. erysipelas or St. Anthony's fire, and venereal disease. Obs.
| 1382 Wyclif Levit. xiii. 28 And therfor it shal be clensid, for a fel wounde of brennyng it is. c 1390 MS. quoted in Phil. Trans. XXX. 845 A Receipt for Brenning of the Pyntyl, yat men clepe ye Apegalle. 1398 Trevisa Barth. De P.R. xviii. ix. (1495) 759 The serpent Ophites hath as many manere of brennynges and greuynges as he hath speckles and colours. c 1430 MS. quoted in Phil. Trans. XXX. 842 That no Stew-holder keep noo Woman wythin his Hous that hath any Sycknesse of Brenning. 1547 Boorde Breuyary, The 19th Chapiter doth shew of Burning of an Harlotte. 1552 Huloet, Burning or ytche in the skynne, vredo. a 1571 Jewel On Thess. ii. (1583) 346 Ech Saint was assigned..to his sundry charge..Antonie, for the burning 1751 Chambers Cycl. s.v. 1753 ― Cycl. Supp., Burning is more particularly used for..erysipelas. 1860 Mayne Exp. Lex., Burning, an old English name for Gonorrhœa. |
II. Connected with the trans. senses of the verb.
5. a. The action of consuming or injuring by fire.
| c 1250 Gen. & Ex. 3653 Brenninge he [Moyses] calde ðat stede. c 1386 Chaucer Knt.'s T. 138 At the brennynge [v.r. berneynge] Of the bodies. 1594 West Symbol. ii. §201 Burning of a barne adioyning to a dwelling house by night. 1648 Art. Peace xxii. in Milton's Wks. 1851 II, The other [Act] prohibiting the Burning of Oats in the Straw. 1865 Reader 25 Feb. 221/2 Whether Omar really ordered the burning of the Alexandrian library or not. |
b. concr. A conflagration, a fire.
| c 1425 Wyntoun Cron. vii. ix. 509 Of þat brynnyn Schyre Willame Ðe Besat bare þan girt defame. 1543–4 Act 35 Hen. VIII, xii, The same Scottes..make..spoyles burnynges, murders..and depopulations in this his realme. 1611 Bible Amos iv. 11 And yee were as a firebrand pluckt out of the burning. 1700 Tyrrell Hist. Eng. II. 792 There were cruel Plunderings and Burnings committed in that Province. 1758 Hayward Serm. xvi. 485 Sentenced to everlasting burnings. |
6. The infliction of capital punishment by burning.
| c 1375 Wyclif Antecrist 119 Martyres han suffrid many dyvers kyndis of peynes as..drenchyng, brennyng & many oþer. c 1450 Merlin i. 21 He hadde delyuered his moder fro brennynge be gode reson. 1526 Pilgr. Perf. (1531) 205 b, All maner of outwarde paynes, as burnynge, drownynge, or suche other. 1812 L. Hunt in Examiner 28 Dec. 819/2 The burnings of Queen Mary might have been excused because there was a burning under Edward the Sixth. |
† 7. A sore caused by fire or heat; a burn. Obs.
| 1542–3 Act 34 & 35 Hen. VIII, viii. §1 Scaldinges, burninges, sore mouthes..& such other like diseases. 1616 Surfl. & Markh. Countr. Farm 75 A Cataplasme made of the yolke and white of an egge..applyed vnto burnings, doth quench..them. |
8. The treatment of any substance with fire for a specific purpose. a. = burnbeating.
| 1669 Worlidge Syst. Agric. v. §1. 62 This Art of Burning of Land..is not applicable or necessary to all sorts of Land. 1751 Chambers Cycl., Burning of land, called also burn beating. 1814 Sir H. Davy Agric. Chem. 344 The improvement of sterile lands by burning was known to the Romans. 1842 E. J. Lance Cott. Farm. 7. |
b. The preparation of lime, bricks, pottery, etc. by the use of fire; also the burning on or fixing of colours by the application of fire. Also, the quantity of bricks burnt at one operation.
| 1559 Morwyng Evonym. 214 Men thinke them to be..les smelling of any fyrines and brenning. 1663 Gerbier Counsel 57 The burning of lime in China..being as followeth. 1719 De Foe Crusoe (1840) I. ix. 146 Tiles of my own making and burning. 1784 Wedgwood in Phil. Trans. LXXIV. 366 The burning-on of enamel colours upon earthen ware. 1881 Raymond Mining Gloss., Burning, see Calcining. 1901 Pall Mall Gaz. 9 Dec. 8/2 No two burnings (a burning is a kiln full of bricks) have exactly the same shade of colour. |
c. Surg. Cautery.
| 1636 Healey Epictetus' Man. 163 To live, of itselfe, is neither good nor evill, no more then cutting or burning. a 1677 Barrow Serm. II. iv. (R.), To endure cuttings and burnings. |
d. See burn v. 13 c.
| 1688 R. Holme Armoury iii. vii. §144 Yet there is another way of joining the two edges together in one, and yet not sodder them, but melt the edges by running hot Lead along it; which is termed the Burning of a joint. |
e. burning off. Austral. and N.Z. See burn v.1 13 f.
| 1800 P. G. King in Hist. Rec. N.S.W. (1896) IV. 188 For falling, burning off, and breaking up an acre of ground. 1844 C. Chapman Let. 30 Nov. in A. Drummond Married & Gone to N.Z. (1960) iv. 69 Xmas is the time for burning off. 1860 in A. F. Ridgway Voices from Auckland 73 The burning off should be driven as late in the season as it is safe to do so. 1891 R. Wallace Rural Econ. Austral. & N.Z. xv. 232 Falling [of the bush] is done in winter, and burning off in the middle or end of summer, when everything is withered and the weather dry. 1949 D. Walker We went to Australia 201 This was the hot season and all ‘burning off’ strictly forbidden. |
† 9. a. Lighting up; illumination. Obs.
| 1466 in Past. Lett. 549 II. 267 For brinnyng of the Abbes [? Abbey] with the torches xxd. |
b. The illumination of a river by torches for the gaffing of salmon.
| 1844 W. H. Maxwell Sports & Adv. Scotl. xxix. (1855) 235, I look upon sunning and burning as the acts of privileged poachers. |
10. Comb., as (sense 5) burning-lens, burning-mirror, burning-speculum; burning-ghat: see ghaut, ghat 4; † burning-point, the focus of a lens (obs.); burning-fluid, burning-oil, burning-wood; (sense 8) burning-house, burning-iron. Also burning-glass.
| 1849 Weale Dict. Terms, *Burning-house, the furnace in which tin ores are calcined. 1865 Morning Star 3 May, There was a large burning-house, that evolved arsenical vapour. |
| 1483 Cath. Angl. 32 A *Birnynge yrne..cauterium. 1503 Mem. Ripon (Surtees) III. 167 De proficuo ferri Sancti Wilfridi vocati Seintwilfride burningeyron. 1523 Fitzherb. Surv. 286 Euery townshyppe..ought to haue a dyuers brennynge yron. 1651 C. Cartwright Cert. Relig. i. 96 For which last he was..branded on the shoulder with a hot borning iron. |
| 1831 Brewster Optics xxxviii. §164 By means of this powerful *burning lens platina..quartz, garnet..were melted in a few seconds. |
| 1751 Chambers Cycl. s.v. Burning-glass, Every concave mirrour..is..a *burning mirrour. |
| 1698 A. van Leeuwenhoek in Phil. Trans. XX. 171 The *burning Point of the Magnifying Glass. 1807 Hutton Course Math. II. 120 All rays parallel to the axis, are reflected to the focus, or burning point. |
| 1837 Whewell Hist. Induct. Sc. (1857) I. 367 Remarkable inventions—as..*burning specula. |
| 1642 MS. Acc. St. John's Hosp. Canterb., For fellinge..ashes and other *burning wood vjs. |
▪ II. burning, ppl. a.
(ˈbɜːnɪŋ)
For forms see the verb.
[f. burn v.1 + -ing2.]
That burns (in the various senses of the verb).
I. Connected with the intr. senses of the verb.
1. In a state of active heat, glowing, flaming.
| c 1000 ælfric on O.T. in Sweet Ags. Reader (1879) 68 Ðas þri cnihtas het se cyning awurpan into byrnendum ofne. c 1175 Lamb. Hom. 41 On berninde fure. c 1270 Saints' Lives (Laud MS. 1887) 234 For in þe brennynde hulle..Mi riȝte is to brennen Inne. c 1430 Life St. Katharine (1884) 41 Among þe flaumes of þat brennyng fyre. 1517 R. Torkington Pilgr. (1884) 37 In the likenesse of brennyng tongis. 1713 Young Last Day iii. 209 Bound to the bottom of the burning pool. |
b. transf. Of fever, thirst, etc.: Characterized by great heat, raging, violent.
| 1393 Langl. P. Pl. C. xx. 83 Byles and bocches and brennyng agues. 1661 Lovell Hist. Anim. & Min. 518 A feaver, burning, tertian, and exquisite, requireth a liquid consistence. 1753 Chambers Cycl. Supp. s.v., On account of a sensation of heat..we say a burning fever. 1857 Livingstone Trav. ii. 52 In a state of burning thirst. |
c. fig. Of the passions: Ardent, glowing; vehement, excited.
| a 1300 Cursor M., Resurrection 264, p. 988 With brennand luf scho dwelled. a 1450 Knt. de la Tour (1868) 164 So brenninge plesaunce that they wol neuer eschew thaire synne. 1552 Lyndesay Monarche 2570 Thare byrnand yre. 1709 Steele Tatler No. 81 ¶3 A burning Desire to join that glorious Company. 1814 Southey Roderick xxiv, With copious tears Of burning anger. 1862 Stanley Jew. Ch. (1877) I. xiii. 260 A burning enthusiasm. 1871 R. Ellis Catullus lxiv. 226 This burning sorrow within me. |
d. fig. In burning shame, burning disgrace, etc., the prevailing idea is now perhaps ‘flagrant, flaming, conspicuous’; but there is often a mixture of notions derived from other senses, such as those of branding, stigmatizing; torturing as an inward fire; causing the cheeks to glow, etc.
| 1605 Shakes. Lear iv. iii. 48 Burning shame Detains him from Cordelia. 1709 Steele Tatler No. 44 ¶5 It is really a burning shame this Man should be tolerated. 1817 Chalmers Astron. Disc. vi. 202 [To] sit down in patient endurance under the burning disgrace of such a violation. |
2. On fire, as a combustible; in process of being destroyed by fire; enveloped in flames. spec. burning mountain (now arch.), a volcano.
| c 1000 ælfric Deut. ix. 15 Þa ic nyþereode of þam byrnendan munte. c 1175 Lamb. Hom. 27 He mahte iseon ane berninde glede. c 1380 Sir Ferumb. 2236 Lucafer þanne tok op an-haste þe brennyngest bronde a couþe. a 1502 Arnolde Chron. (1811) p. xx, Bering burning coles. 1598 Barret Theor. Warres iv. ii. 107 The Sentinell..ought to cock his burning match. 1667 Milton P.L. i. 69 A fiery deluge, fed With ever-burning Sulphur unconsum'd. 1690 [see volcano 1 a β]. 1712 Addison Spect. No. 281 ¶13 A Pan of burning Coals. 1797 Encycl. Brit. XVIII. 686/1 Thus..the foundation of the burning mountain would be laid in the bottom of the sea. 1804 M. Lewis in Lewis & Clark Exped. (1905) VI. v. 163, I can hear of no burning mountain in the neighbourhood of the Missouri. 1867 Freeman Norm. Conq. (ed. 3) I. v. 324 They were hardly clear of the burning town. 1937 C. S. Forester Happy Return i. 22 He heard young Clay bellowing from the masthead, where presumably Gerard had sent him with a glass. ‘Looks like a burning mountain, sir. Two burning mountains. Volcanoes, sir’. 1944 A. Holmes Princ. Physical Geol. xx. 444 These ‘fiery’ and ‘smoky’ appearances, together with the glare reflected from the glowing lavas beneath, were responsible for the formerly popular idea that volcanoes are ‘burning mountains’. |
b. fig. burning matter, burning question (cf. F. question brûlante, Ger. brennende Frage): one that is under hot discussion, or about which the public are excited.
| 1865 M. Arnold Ess. Crit. i. (1875) 42 Where these burning matters [politics and religion] are in question, it [criticism] is most likely to go astray. 1873 Disraeli in St. James's Gaz. (Feb. 1882), Those institutions..in due time will become great and burning questions. a 1883 Max Müller India, What Can It Teach Us? i. (1883) 32 Take any of the burning questions of the day. |
c. fig. That is on fire with feeling and passion, or that glows with vehemence; ardent, fiery.
| a 1340 Hampole Psalter xxiii. 6 Þa ere þai þat ere brennandere in luf. 1508 Fisher Wks. i. (E.E.T.) 182 Shynynge in fayth..brennynge in charyte. a 1560 Rolland Crt. Venus Prol. 68 Bauld and birnand in rancour and malice. 1819 Byron Juan iii. lxxxvi, The isles of Greece! Where burning Sappho lov'd and sung. 1873 G. C. Davies Mount. & Mere xiv. 117, I had prepared a most burning and eloquent address. |
3. In a highly heated state; exceedingly hot. † burning line: the equator (obs.). burning zone: the torrid zone (poet.).
| 1483 Caxton G. de la Tour C iij b, The devil..dyde put brennyng nedles through her browes. 1553 Eden Treat. New Ind. (Arb.) 10 Vnder the Equinoctial or burninge lyne. 1661 Lovell Hist. Anim. & Min., Engendring cholerick humours, and burning bloud. 1697 Dryden Virg. Georg. iii. 390 In the Desart Land Of Libya travels, o'er the burning Sand. 1713 Addison Cato i. iii. 31 Lord of half the burning Zone. 1807 Crabbe Library 318 We trace In dens and burning plains, her savage race. |
b. burning scent: strong, very ‘warm’ scent; burning chase: hot, uninterrupted, pursued without a check.
| a 1700 Dryden (J.), He shot by me Like a young hound upon a burning scent. 1755 Young Centaur Wks. 1762 IV. 182 Ye staunch pursuers of Pleasure Opening full cry on its burning Scent. 1854 R. Massie in Bk. Praise iv. No. 358 (1862) 384 The hart..Heated in the burning chace. 1859 Art Taming Horses xii. 200 Burning scent, when hounds go so fast, from the goodness of the scent, they have no breath to spare, and run almost mute. |
4. That burns luminously; giving light, shining; transf. glowing as if incandescent.
| c 1000 Ags. Gosp. John v. 35 He wæs byrnende leoht-fæt and lyhtende. 1297 R. Glouc. 534 The bissops amansede alle..Mid berninde taperes. 1398 Trevisa Barth. De P.R. xviii. ix. (1495) 759 The serpent Ophites is paynted wyth brennyng speckles. c 1430 Lydg. Bochas vi. i. (1554) 143 Brenning eyen sparkling of their light. 1564 Becon Gen. Pref. in Wks. (1843) 18 They are..like unto a brenning candle. 1596 Spenser F.Q. i. v. 6 Burning blades about their heades [they] doe blesse. 1821 Shelley Prometh. Unb. ii. i. 22 The burning threads of woven cloud unravel. |
II. Connected with the trans. senses of the verb.
5. Affecting with heat; scorching, withering.
| 1382 Wyclif Gen. xli. 23 Other seuen [eeris], thinne and smytun with a brennynge blaste. c 1620 Z. Boyd Zion's Flowers (1855) 38 The burning ray, That from the sun comes. 1718 Pope Iliad i. 90 Phoebus [shall] dart his burning shafts no more. 1805 Wordsw. Waggoner i. 1 'Tis spent—this burning day of June! |
b. Causing a sensation like that of contact with fire. † burning water = ardent spirit (obs.).
| 1460–70 Bk. Quintessence 2 Oure quinta essencia..hath .iij. names..brennynge watir, þe soule in þe spirit of wyn, and watir of lijf. 1528 Paynell Salerne Regim. F iv b, Wyne citrine is not so burnynge as redde claret. 1559 Morwyng Evonym. 8 Brenning water..doth..make hoat and dry mens bodies. 1578 Lyte Dodoens i. lxxxvii. 129 The small burning Nettell. 1878 Britten & Holland Plant-n., Burning Nettle, Urtica urens, L. |
c. That resembles heat in its effects.
| 1697 Dryden Virg. Georg. iii. 675 Burning Isicles are lodg'd within. 1821 Shelley Prometh. Unb. i. 33 The bright chains Eat with their burning cold into my bones. |
6. quasi-adv., as in burning hot.
| 1475 Bk. Noblesse (1860) 6 Now at erst the irnesse be brennyng hote in the fire. 1549 Compl. Scot. vi. 52 Ther tua symmyrs ar vondir birnand heyt. Mod. It was a burning hot day in July. |
7. In parasynthetic combinations.
| 1597 Drayton Mortimer. 145 His Cradell Phalaris burning-bellyed Bull. |