footing

English

Part or all of this entry has been imported from the 1913 edition of Webster’s Dictionary, which is now free of copyright and hence in the public domain. The imported definitions may be significantly out of date, and any more recent senses may be completely missing.
(See the entry for “footing”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.)

Etymology

From Middle English fotyng; equivalent to foot +‎ -ing.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈfʊtɪŋ/

• Audio (US):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ʊtɪŋ

Noun

footing (countable and uncountable, plural footings)

1. A ground for the foot; place for the foot to rest on; firm foundation to stand on.
   • (Can we date this quote by Holder and provide title, author’s full name, and other details?)

     In ascent, every step gained is a footing and help to the next.

2. A standing; position; established place; basis for operation; permanent settlement; foothold.
   • Thomas Macaulay (1800-1859)

     As soon as he had obtained a footing at court, the charms of his manner […] made him a favorite.

3. A relative condition; state.
   • Thomas Macaulay (1800-1859)

     Lived on a footing of equality with nobles.

4. A tread; step; especially, measured tread.
   • William Shakespeare (c.1564–1616), The Merchant of Venice

     Hark, I hear the footing of a man.

5. (now rare) A footprint or footprints; tracks, someone's trail.
   • 1590, Edmund Spenser, The Faerie Queene, III.vii:

     The Monster swift as word, that from her went, / Went forth in hast, and did her footing trace […].

   • Template:RQ:Florio Montaigne Essayes
6. stability or balance when standing on one's feet
   • 2011 October 29, Phil McNulty, “Chelsea 3-5 Arsenal”, in BBC Sport:

     Terry lost his footing to allow Van Persie to race clear for Arsenal's fourth after 85 minutes before the Netherlands striker completed a second treble against Chelsea by hammering his third past Petr Cech deep into stoppage time.

7. The act of adding up a column of figures; the amount or sum total of such a column.
   • Francis A. Corliss, Supreme Court, County of New York (p.111)

     The auditing of the accounts, when the defendant was present, was nothing more than the examinings of the footings of the bookkeeper.

8. The act of putting a foot to anything; also, that which is added as a foot

   the footing of a stocking

9. A narrow cotton lace, without figures.
10. The finer refuse part of whale blubber, not wholly deprived of oil.

    (Can we find and add a quotation of Simmonds to this entry?)

11. (architecture, engineering) The thickened or sloping portion of a wall, or of an embankment at its foot; foundation.
12. (accounting) Double checking the numbers vertically.

Derived terms

• footing beam
• footing course
• pay one's footing

Translations

a ground for the foot

• Bulgarian: опора (bg) f (opora)
• German: Halt (de) m, Grundlage (de) f, Basis (de) f, fester Stand m
• Greek: πάτημα (el) n (pátima)
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Russian: опо́ра для ног f (opóra dlja nog)
• Swedish: fotfäste (sv) n

a standing; position; established place; basis for operation

• German: Standbein (de) n, feste Basis f, Position (de) f
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}

a relative condition; state

• German: Basis (de) f, Zustand (de) m
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}

a tread; step; especially, measured tread

• German: Schritt (de) m, Gang (de) m
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}

stability or balance when standing on one's feet

• German: Halt (de) m
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}

Verb

footing

1. present participle of foot

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French

Etymology

Pseudo-anglicism, from English foot (“foot, to walk”) +‎ -ing.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /fu.tiŋ/

Noun

footing m (uncountable)

1. (France) Exercise walking, jogging (as a form of exercise)
   • 2014, Erin McCahan, Cool, Sweet, Hot, Love, Nathan (publ.), page 8.

     Je ne comprends pas ceux qui font du footing à deux.

     I don't understand those who jog in pairs.

Synonyms

• jogging

Further reading

• “footing”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.

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Galician

Etymology

From French footing, Pseudo-anglicism, from English foot (“foot, to walk”) +‎ -ing.

Noun

footing m (uncountable)

1. jogging (as a form of exercise), running

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Italian

Etymology

Pseudo-anglicism, from English foot (“foot, to walk”) +‎ -ing.

Noun

footing m (uncountable)

1. jogging
   • 2006, Vittorino Andreoli, Alfabeto delle relazioni, BUR Saggi.

     Fa sport agonistico, nel footing è più atletico dei propri figli.

     (please add an English translation of this quotation)

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Spanish

Etymology

From French footing, pseudo-anglicism, from English foot (“foot, to walk”) +‎ -ing.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈfutin/ [ˈfu.t̪ĩn]

Noun

footing m (uncountable)

1. jogging (as a form of exercise), running
   • 2014, Alex de Deus Monteiro, El hijo de un Dios Mayor, Bubok Publishing, →ISBN, page 24.

     —¿Todos los días hace footing? —preguntó Pancho.

     (please add an English translation of this quotation)