▪ I. basking, vbl. n.1
(ˈbɑːskɪŋ, -æ-)
[f. bask v.]
The action of exposing oneself to genial warmth. Also attrib., as in basking-hole.
| 1856 Kane Arct. Exp. II. xiii. 134 Until the seals begin to form their basking-holes. |
▪ II. † ˈbasking, vbl. n.2 Obs.
[f. baske v. + -ing1.]
Beating, flagellation; also fig.
| 1642 Rogers Naaman 137 Full of tedious accusations, and baskings of herselfe. |
▪ III. ˈbasking, ppl. a.
[f. bask v. + -ing2.]
1. That basks or suns himself.
| 1742 Young Nt. Th. iii. 19 Take Phœbus to yourselves, ye basking bards! 1870 Morris Earthly Par. II. iii. 303 The basking pike's abode. |
2. basking-shark: the largest species of shark (Selachus maximus), called also Sun-fish and Sail-fish, found in the Northern Seas: see quot. 1802.
| 1769 Pennant Zool. III. 78. 1802 Bingley Anim. Biog. (1813) III. 97 The basking shark has derived its name from its propensity to lie on the surface of the water, as if to bask itself in the sun. 1860 Gosse Rom. Nat. Hist. 149 The huge basking-shark of six-and-thirty feet. |