taking

By surface analysis, take +‎ -ing.

• IPA^(key): /ˈteɪkɪŋ/

• Audio (US):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -eɪkɪŋ

taking (comparative more taking, superlative most taking)

1. Alluring; attractive.
   • 1655, Thomas Fuller, “The Tenth Century”, in The Church-history of Britain; , London: Iohn Williams , →OCLC, (please specify |book=I to XI), page 128:

     […] a Proteus-Devil appeared unto him, changing into Shapes, but fixing himself at last into the form of a Fair Woman. Strange, that Satan (so subtil in making his Temptations most taking) should preferre this form […]

   • 1793, Charles Dibdin, chapter 9, in The Younger Brother‎, volume 2, London: for the author, page 263:

     His speech from the hustings was very original, and therefore very taking.

   • 1878, Thomas Hardy, The Return of the Native‎, Book 3, Chapter 1:

     “Yes, Paris must be a taking place,” said Humphrey. “Grand shop-winders, trumpets, and drums; and here be we out of doors in all winds and weathers—”

   • 1909, Frank Sidgwick, Love and battles, page 291:

     The gentleman had left for London after lunch. Yes, alone; but he had lunched in the hotel with a lady. A young lady. A very taking young lady. She called him uncle. But walked away in another direction as his cab started. The porter's eye was beginning to twinkle; […]

2. (obsolete) Infectious; contagious.
   • c. 1603–1606, William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of King Lear”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies  (First Folio), London: Isaac Iaggard, and Ed Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, :

     All the stor’d vengeances of heaven fall
     On her ingrateful top! Strike her young bones,
     You taking airs, with lameness!

   • 1647, John Fletcher, Philip Massinger, The False One‎, act IV, scene 3:

     Come not near me,
     For I am yet too taking for your company.

• takingly
• takingness

taking (countable and uncountable, plural takings)

1. The act by which something is taken.
   • 1900, Joseph Conrad, chapter 27, in Lord Jim‎, Edinburgh and London: William Blackwood, page 290:

     At the taking of the stockade he had distinguished himself greatly by the methodical ferocity of his fighting.

   • 2010, Ian Ayres, Optional Law: The Structure of Legal Entitlements, page 75:

     Second, they argue that giving the original owner a take-back option might lead to an infinite sequence of takings and retakings if the exercise price for the take-back option (i.e., the damages assessed at each round) is set too low.

2. (uncountable) A seizure of someone's goods or possessions.
3. (uncountable) A state of mental distress, resulting in excited or erratic behavior (in the expression in a taking).
   • 1602, William Shakespeare, The Merry Wives of Windsor, Act III, Scene III:

     What a taking was hee in, when your husband askt who was in the basket?

   • 1847, Emily Brontë, Wuthering Heights, vol. 2, ch. 16, p. 321:

     "[...] at last, he proceeded from staring to touching; he put out his hand and stroked one curl, as gently as if it were a bird. He might have stuck a knife into her neck, she started round in such a taking.
     "'Get away, this moment! How dare you touch me? Why are you stopping there?' she cried, in a tone of disgust. [...]

   • 1874, Thomas Hardy, chapter 30, in Far from the Madding Crowd‎:

     “And, dear miss, you won’t harry me and storm at me, will you? because you seem to swell so tall as a lion then, and it frightens me! Do you know, I fancy you would be a match for any man when you are in one o’ your takings.”

   • 1934, Agatha Christie, chapter 4, in Murder on the Orient Express, London: HarperCollins, published 2017, page 102:

     ‘Poor soul - she was quite in a taking. You see, she’d opened the door to the next compartment by mistake.’

   • 1970, Mary Stewart, The Crystal Cave‎, New York: Fawcett Crest, Book 1, Chapter 2, p. 26:

     “[...] there’ll be a beating for someone, by my reckoning, if he’s not there by the time the King’s looking round for him. He’s been in a rare taking since the outriders came in, that I can tell you.”

4. (in the plural, Commonwealth, UK, Ireland) Cash or money received (by a shop or other business, for example).

   Synonyms: income, receipts

   Fred was concerned because the takings from his sweetshop had fallen again for the third week.

   Count the shop's takings.

   • 1929, Virginia Woolf, chapter 2, in A Room of One’s Own‎, London: The Hogarth Press, published 1931, page 60:

     [...] the woman who keeps the greengrocer’s shop was adding up the day’s takings with her hands in red mittens.

   • 1961 October, “Talking of Trains: Last of the M.S.W.J.R.”, in Trains Illustrated, page 586:

     According to T. B. Sands in his history of the M.S.W.J.R. (Oakwood Press: 8s 6d) Fay at first had to await cash takings from stations before he could pay his staff; [...].

   • 1995, Rohinton Mistry, chapter 12, in A Fine Balance‎, Toronto: McClelland & Stewart, pages 554–555:

     The child was not returned to the mother. [...] strangers giving him suck found it easier to display the utter despair in their faces that made for successful begging, whereas if [the mother] had had the pleasure of clasping her little son to her bosom all day, it would have been impossible to keep a spark of joy, however tiny, out of her eyes, which would have adversely affected the takings.

• side-taking

taking

1. present participle and gerund of take
   • 1892, Walter Besant, “Prologue: Who is Edmund Gray?”, in The Ivory Gate , New York, N.Y.: Harper & Brothers, , →OCLC, page 16:

     Athelstan Arundel walked home […], foaming and raging. […] He walked the whole way, walking through crowds, and under the noses of dray-horses, carriage-horses, and cart-horses, without taking the least notice of them.

• (Standard Tagalog) IPA^(key): /ˈtakiŋ/
• Rhymes: -akiŋ
• Syllabification: ta‧king

taking (Baybayin spelling ᜆᜃᜒᜅ᜔)

1. (Taal Batangas) boy

   Synonyms: totoy, toto, tuto, itoy

• tagay

• tikang, tingka