asking

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary
Jump to navigation Jump to search

English

[edit]

Pronunciation

[edit]

Etymology 1

[edit]

From Middle English askinge, askande, from Old English āsciende, from Proto-West Germanic *aiskōndī, present participle of Proto-West Germanic *aiskōn (to ask), equivalent to ask +‎ -ing.

Verb

[edit]

asking

  1. present participle of ask

Adjective

[edit]

asking (comparative more asking, superlative most asking)

  1. That asks; that expresses a question or request.
    • 1924, Edna Ferber, So Big[1], New York: Grosset & Dunlap, page 109:
      It was as when some great gentle dog brings in a limp and bedraggled prize dug from the yard and, laying it at one’s feet, looks up at one with soft asking eyes.
    • 1942, Zora Neale Hurston, chapter 12, in Dust Tracks on a Road[2], New York: Arno Press and The New York Times, published 1969, page 235:
      [] all of them looked at each other in an asking way.
    • 2015, Agnes Toth, The Guardian of Power, page 124:
      He stepped to me while taking purchase on the handrail and looked through me with an asking look; finally he added with a sardonic smile. "I know now that you feel; hatred coming from deep."
Derived terms
[edit]

Etymology 2

[edit]

From Middle English asking, askyng, askynge, from Old English āscung (asking; question; inquiry), from Proto-West Germanic *aiskungu, equivalent to ask +‎ -ing.

Noun

[edit]

asking (countable and uncountable, plural askings)

  1. The act or process of posing a question or making a request.
    His asking was greeted with silence.
    • 1837, L[etitia] E[lizabeth] L[andon], “An Evening Alone”, in Ethel Churchill: Or, The Two Brides. [], volume I, London: Henry Colburn, [], →OCLC, page 303:
      The large eyes sought his own, as if asking for help, and yet unable to do more than look their mute asking.
    • 1923, Martin Buber, I and Thou:
      Form's silent asking, man's loving speech, the mute proclamation of the creature, are all gates leading into the presence of the Word.
    • 2023, Osho, Meditation: The Art of Ecstasy, page 89:
      If someone asks for love he will not get love, because the very asking makes him unlovely, ugly; the very fact of asking becomes the barrier.
  2. (rare in the singular) A request, or petition.
    • 2005, Beth Miller, The Woman's Book of Resilience: 12 Qualities to Cultivate, page 125:
      After many askings, pleadings, and episodes, all leading to nothing, she finally slumped down at the side of a well in a village where she was unknown.
  3. (in the plural) The marriage banns.
Usage notes
[edit]

Anagrams

[edit]

Middle English

[edit]

Noun

[edit]

asking

  1. Alternative form of askynge