punching

English

Etymology

Etymology tree

English punch

Proto-Indo-European *-h₂

Proto-Indo-European *-éh₂

Proto-Indo-European *-yéti

Proto-Indo-European *-eh₂yéti

Proto-Indo-European *-h₂ti

Proto-Germanic *-ōną

Proto-Germanic *-gō

Proto-Germanic *-ōngō?

Proto-Germanic *-ungō

Old English -ung

Middle English -ynge

English -ing

English punching

From punch + -ing.

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈpʌnt͡ʃɪŋ/

• Audio (Southern England):

  (file)

• (General American) IPA^(key): /ˈpʌnt͡ʃɪŋ/, [ˈpən(t)ʃɪŋ]
• Rhymes: -ʌntʃɪŋ
• Hyphenation: punch‧ing

Noun

punching (countable and uncountable, plural punchings)

1. gerund of punch
   1. An incident in which someone is punched.
      • 2009 January 25, Evonne Barry, “Booze and the trail of violence”, in Herald Sun‎^[1], archived from the original on 12 February 2009:

        Over the past four years, the rate of "interpersonal" attacks and "penetrating injuries" – such as stabbings, glassings, punchings, beatings – has doubled, he said.

   2. The process of making holes in something (for example, a leather belt or a rail ticket).

Verb

punching

1. present participle and gerund of punch
2. (informal, UK) Clipping of punching above one's weight; in a relationship with a more attractive partner.
   • 2017 September 27, Lucia Binding, “'Dele's punching' - Alli's model girlfriend Ruby Mae sends fans wild on Instagram”, in International Business Times‎^[2]:

     One even took the mickey out of her footballer boyfriend, commenting underneath the shot: "@dele I love ya bro, keep doing bits for Spurs... but you are punching mate ".

   • 2019 July 3, Sarah Finley, “Father and daughter are left red-faced when a friend mistakes them for a COUPLE in a Facebook snap - and tells the dad he's 'punching above his weight'”, in Daily Mail‎^[3]:

     Micheal Cerutti left a message under the photo on Facebook which said 'you're punching mate'.

   • 2021 October 7, Nancy Brown, “MAFSA viewers furious over Bryce’s treatment of wife Melissa”, in Entertainment Daily‎^[4]:

     A fifth tweeted: “#MAFSAUS you slept with her on the first night Bryce. How to destroy someone in one cruel line. (For the record, you are punching there chum).”

Derived terms

• buddy punching
• hippie punching
• punching bag