greeningn.1
/ˈɡriːnɪŋ/, U.S. /ˈɡrinɪŋ/ The action of green v.1 in various senses.
1. † c. concrete. A liquid preparation used to impart a green colour. Obsolete.
a. The process of making something green or imparting a green colour, esp. to vegetables or other food. Cf. green v.1 2a. Now rare.Recorded earliest in compounds.
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the world > matter > colour > named colours > green or greenness > making or becoming green > [noun]
greeninga1200
virescence1888
a1200 in Archaeologia (1847) 32 223 Accipe herbam, que dicitur greningpert [read greningwert].
a1399 in W. G. Benham Oath Bk. Colchester (1907) 8 (MED) Grenyng wed, un charge de charett, iiij d.
1703 R. Neve City & Countrey Purchaser 195 This Greening is only rubbing it with some green Vegetable; it matters not what..and..the Sodder..by reason of the Greening easily peel'd off.
1804 ‘Ignotus’ Culina 77 Whenever the juice of spinage is used for greening, we should be careful not to put it to soup in the act of boiling, for that would weaken its colour.
1913 Calif. Board of Health Monthly Bull. Oct. 75 The use of copper salts in the greening of foods is prohibited by Food Inspection Decisions 148 and 149.
1949 G. W. Monier-Williams Trace Elements in Food 32 The carefully controlled greening of vegetables.
b. The process of imparting a green colour to oysters, esp. (formerly) as part of oyster culture; acquisition of a green colour by oysters.See note at green v.1 2b.
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1667 T. Sprat Hist. Royal-Soc. i. 308 These Pits..will become green, and communicate their colour to the Oysters... To prove that the Sun operates in the greening, Tolesbury Pits will green only in Summer.
1791 P. Burton Pract. Office of Pleas, Court of Exchequer II. 150 Short..kept the possession of the said oyster pits, and hath, by flatting and greening of oysters, raised to himself by the sale thereof, 700l. and upwards.
1879 Cassell's Techn. Educator (new ed.) IV. 184/2 The fattening and greening of the oysters.
1915 Lancet 23 Oct. 927/1 In France the greening of oysters is a matter of study, a kind of finishing process, and the most esteemed oyster in that country is the greenbeard, the ‘huitres verts’.
1975 Water Res. 9 291/2 Greening of oysters due to the presence of copper concentrations above natural levels in seawater has been reported frequently.
2000 Bioresource Technol. 73 198/1 A blue-green hydrosoluble pigment named ‘marennine’..is..known to be responsible for the greening of oysters.
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the world > matter > colour > named colours > green or greenness > green colouring matter > [noun]
greening1728
1728 E. Smith Compl. Housewife (ed. 2) 174 Take them up, and lay them upon a Sieve to drain from the Water; be sure they do not boil in the greening, for if they have but one walm they are spoiled.
1857 in A. H. Hassall Adulterations Detected 406 To make Greening.—Take a bit of verdigris the bigness of hazel-nut, half a pint of distilled vinegar, [etc.]... Put a small teaspoonful into codlings, or whatever you wish to green.
1892 T. F. Garrett & W. A. Rawson Encycl. Pract. Cookery I. 719 Greening, a vegetable colouring matter made by expressing the juice of spinach. Occasionally used in confectionery and for other culinary purposes.
d. The process or result of providing a (relatively) barren or treeless area with vegetation, esp. as part of a programme of urban revitalization or desert reclamation. Also with up.
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the world > the earth > land > landscape > fertile land or place > [noun] > making
fertilization1863
greening1919
society > inhabiting and dwelling > inhabited place > district in relation to human occupation > town and country > [noun] > rural scene created in city
rus in urbe1728
garden city1838
greening1941
the world > food and drink > farming > cultivation or tillage > reclamation > [noun]
amendment1483
improvement1549
improvinga1563
recoverya1632
mendment1644
cultivation1791
reclaim1799
reclamation1810
intaking1812
redemption1812
clearing1821
reclaimment1852
land reclamation1881
breaking-in1891
greening1955
1919 E. L. Sabin Building Pacific Railway ix. 254 The water tank, the furrow, the greening of barren ground,..were not alone the tokens planted by the footsteps of the Pacific Railway.
1941 Rev. Foreign Countries 1939 & Early 1940s (U.S Bureau Foreign & Domestic Commerce) 47 A feature of the year 1939, as reported by the Soviet press, has been the ‘greening’ of the new and expanded old industrial cities, the planting of parks..and opening of tree-bordered boulevards.
1955 Greening Movement in Japan (Jap. Forestry Agency) i. 1 A thoroughgoing reforestation movement, aimed at the greening not only of forests, but also of war-destroyed cities, parks and schoolyards.
1986 Independent 17 Nov. 4 A report..is expected to identify the need for..a widespread programme of ‘greening up’ in the area.
1990 R. W. Baker Sadat & After i. 34 Newspaper headlines proclaimed the greening of the Egyptian sands.
2002 Hemispheres Mar. 15 New plantings of trees will also help in the ‘greening’ of the medina—the reintroduction of trees and other plants that have disappeared.
2. The action or process of becoming green or covered with vegetation.
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the world > plants > by growth or development > defined by good growth > [noun] > becoming green or verdant
greeninga1400
a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) l. 16867 On þe morn o þat grening, Þe tre als ar was dri.
1654 H. B. tr. J. Böhme Four Tables sig. K2 When those fierce properties..attain'd the Dominion, then the Greening [springing forth] retyr'd back; that is, it remayned in the Tincture of the inward Ground.
1696 J. Lead Fountain of Gardens 130 I will put among the dry Rods which known shall [be] by their greening, and fresh flowering.
1817 J. Keats Sleep & Poetry 171 The tender greening Of April meadows.
1884 Jrnl. Soc. Chem. Industry 29 Apr. 209/1 The use of violet to correct the greening of aniline blacks, as suggested by Brandt,..was successful.
1929 H. A. A. Nicholls & J. H. Holland Text-bk. Trop. Agric. (ed. 2) ii. xv. 445 The bitterness may also be due to exposure during growth, like the ‘greening’ of potatoes.
1970 D. Brown Bury my Heart at Wounded Knee xix. 439 Their belief that..with the next greening of the grass their dead relatives and friends would return.
1997 Resource Packet Neo-Paganism & Witchcraft 27 At the time of the Spring Equinox, I..celebrate the greening of the Earth by dressing in green myself.
2002 J. Van Willigen Appl. Anthropol. viii. 126 Greening renders potatoes unmarketable and inedible but still useful as seed.
3. School slang. The action of green v.1 3; a hoax, a trick. Now rare.
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the mind > mental capacity > knowledge > conformity with what is known, truth > deceit, deception, trickery > cheating, fraud > trickery, playing jokes > [noun]
legerdemain1532
hocus-pocus1647
sham1683
funning1728
humbugging1752
humming1807
hoaxing1808
larking1813
cutting-up1843
cut-up1843
shenanigan1855
codology1860
greening1863
cod1866
leg-pulling1879
spoof1889
codding1892
spoofery1895
four-flushing1901
kidding1901
shenaniganning1924
kidology1964
1863 F. H. Smith Let. 6 Mar. in Message Governor Virginia App. Doc. No. 39, 6 Still, it must be frankly acknowledged, that many parents have had just cause to complain of practices which have existed here, in what is termed among the cadets, the ‘greening’ of new comers.
1879 Boy's Own Paper 18 Jan. 3/2 Leave to others the shamming, The ‘greening’ and ‘cramming’, In fun and in earnest, be true, boys!
1907 Daily Chron. 29 Jan. 3/3 The method of ‘greening’ is the schoolboy trick of making a statement which is a fabrication and getting another boy to believe it.
4. Originally and chiefly U.S. Rejuvenation or renewal, esp. after a period of stagnation or decay; an instance of this.In early use sometimes with implications of political and social liberalism.
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the world > action or operation > amending > restoration > [noun] > restoration to flourishing condition > fact of
regeneration1567
resurging1575
renascency1648
Second Coming1650
palintocya1660
reflorescence1690
revirescence1741
resurgence1798
renascence1810
resurgency1810
recrudescence1877
Renaissance1882
Risorgimento1883
reburgeoning1929
greening1970
1970 C. A. Reich Greening of Amer. xii. 395 For one who thought the world was irretrievably encased in metal and plastic and sterile stone, it seems a veritable greening of America.
1979 Dædalus Winter 104 After years of ‘greening’ unrest, American society has turned conservative again.
1984 J. Lawton All Amer. War Game p. viii Television and gambling are the two other crucial elements..in the greening of football.
1988 Tower Records' Top Feb. 32/1 The band produced the most eclectic material prior to the greening of Nick Lowe.
2002 News & Observer (Raleigh, N. Carolina) (Nexis) 24 Feb. g2 Williams,..who at 70 is enjoying a wonderful late greening.
5. The modification or adaptation of something in accordance with ecological principles. Also: (of a person, group, etc.) the process or result of becoming aware of and sensitive to environmental issues. Cf. green adj. 13.
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1975 Washington Post 12 Jan. f3 The greening of America's hotels and motels. It would have done the hearts and minds of the environmentalists much good to sit in on the annual convention of the American Hotel and Motel Association.
1986 Guardian 25 Mar. 21/8 There are major..advantages in recognising new national and international pressures for a ‘greening’ of all departmental policies.
1989 Times 5 May 23/2 There was no sudden ‘greening’ of Du Pont... Du Pont won a 1987 gold medal for environmental achievement.
1990 Sunday Correspondent 22 Apr. (Colour Suppl.) 23/3 It is Sir Crispin Tickell..who became the key influence in the Johnny-come-lately greening of Mrs. Thatcher.
2000 Plumbing Mag. May–June 6/4 The recycling and re-use of grey water will become a practical reality. The industry's advice will be sought on the ‘greening’ of buildings and elsewhere.
Compounds
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the world > food and drink > farming > animal husbandry > fish-keeping, farming, or breeding > [noun] > breeding oysters > oyster-bed
oyster-leyne1581
oyster bed1591
stew1610
greening-pit1667
layer1735
laying1837
park1867
plantation1881
hive1882
claire1901
1667 T. Sprat Hist. Royal-Soc. i. 309 Brickel-Sea Pits green both Winter and Summer: and for a further proof, a Pit within a foot of a greening Pit will not green.
1800 Philos. Mag. 5 102 They assert that when, in the neighbourhood of a greening-pit, another is formed at the distance of about foot, the water never becomes green in the latter.
1880 R. S. Charnock Gloss. Essex Dial. 19 Greening-pits... The Colchester oysters were frequently distinguished by a green tinge, which the fisherman had the art of communicating to them.
greening weed n. now rare a plant used for dyeing cloth and wool yellow or green.
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the world > matter > colour > named colours > green or greenness > green colouring matter > [noun] > pigment or dye > dyes and dyestuffs
greening worta1200
greening weeda1399
spinach-green1845
emeraldine1864
methyl green1873
malachite green1875
viridine1875
a1399Grenyng wed [see sense 1a].
1583 L. Mascall tr. Profitable Bk. Spottes & Staines 18 Put therein two pound of grening weede.
1597 J. Gerard Herball iii. 1136 The Greeneweedes..do growe to die clothes with... It is called..in English Diers Greening Weede.
1625 G. Markham Inrichm. Weald of Kent 16 There be some other grounds of the Marle Cope, which carry a sowre Grasse, and the Dyers Weed (commonly called Greening weed).
1803 Crit. Rev. 37 552 Among the dyeing plants, we find in the Crimea the madder, the woad, the greening weed, and the archil.
1955 G. Grigson Englishman's Flora 124 The blue wool was ‘greened’ with this Greenweed or Greening-weed—which was valuable enough for the settlers to take to New England.
1985 J. Simmons Shetland Dye Bk. 45 Dyer's greenweed, Genista tinctoria (greening weed).
ΚΠ
a1200Greningwert [see sense 1a].
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2011; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
greeningn.2
/ˈɡriːnɪŋ/, U.S. /ˈɡrinɪŋ/ 1. † b. A variety of pear. Also greening pear. Obsolete.
a. Any of several varieties of apple which are green when ripe, used for cooking or eating. In later use frequently with distinguishing word.red greening, Rhode Island greening: see the first element.
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the world > food and drink > food > fruit and vegetables > fruit or a fruit > apple > [noun] > eating-apple > types of
costardc1390
bitter-sweet1393
Queening?1435
richardine?1435
blaundrellc1440
pear apple1440
tuberc1440
quarrendenc1450
birtle1483
deusan1570
apple-john1572
Richard1572
lording1573
greening1577
queen apple1579
peeler1580
darling1584
doucin1584
golding1589
puffin1589
lady's longing1591
bitter-sweeting1597
pearmain1597
paradise apple1598
garden globe1600
gastlet1600
leather-coat1600
maligar1600
pome-paradise1601
French pippin1629
gillyflower1629
king apple1635
lady apple1651
golden pippin1654
goldling1655
puff1655
cardinal1658
green fillet1662
chestnut1664
cinnamon apple1664
fenouil1664
go-no-further1664
Westbury apple1664
seek-no-farther1670
nonsuch1676
calville1691
passe-pomme1691
fennel apple1699
queen1699
genet1706
fig-apple1707
oaken pin1707
nonpareil1726
costing1731
monstrous reinette1731
Newtown pippin1760
Ribston1782
Rhode Island greening1795
oslin1801
fall pippin1803
monstrous pippin1817
Newtown Spitzenburg1817
Gravenstein1821
Red Astrachan1822
Tolman sweet1822
grange apple1823
orange pippin1823
Baldwin1826
Sturmer Pippin1831
Newtowner1846
Northern Spy1847
Blenheim Orange1860
Cox1860
McIntosh Red1876
Worcester1877
raspberry apple1894
delicious1898
Laxton's Superb1920
Macoun1924
the world > plants > particular plants > cultivated or valued plants > particular food plant or plant product > particular types of fruit > [noun] > apple > eating-apple > types of
costardc1390
bitter-sweet1393
pippin?1435
pomewater?1435
Queening?1435
richardine?1435
blaundrellc1440
pear apple1440
tuberc1440
quarrendenc1450
birtle1483
sweeting1530
pomeroyal1534
renneta1568
deusan1570
apple-john1572
Richard1572
lording1573
russeting1573
greening1577
queen apple1579
peeler1580
reinette1582
darling1584
doucin1584
golding1589
puffin1589
lady's longing1591
bitter-sweeting1597
pearmain1597
paradise apple1598
garden globe1600
gastlet1600
leather-coat1600
maligar1600
pomeroy1600
short-start1600
jenneting1601
pome-paradise1601
russet coat1602
John apple1604
honey apple1611
honeymeal1611
musk apple1611
short-shank1611
spice apple1611
French pippin1629
king apple1635
lady apple1651
golden pippin1654
goldling1655
puff1655
cardinal1658
renneting1658
green fillet1662
chestnut1664
cinnamon apple1664
fenouil1664
go-no-further1664
reinetting1664
Westbury apple1664
seek-no-farther1670
nonsuch1676
white-wining1676
russet1686
calville1691
fennel apple1699
queen1699
genet1706
fig-apple1707
oaken pin1707
musk1708
nonpareil1726
costing1731
monstrous reinette1731
Newtown pippin1760
Ribston1782
Rhode Island greening1795
oslin1801
wine apple1802
fall pippin1803
monstrous pippin1817
Newtown Spitzenburg1817
Gravenstein1821
Red Astrachan1822
Tolman sweet1822
grange apple1823
orange pippin1823
Baldwin1826
wine-sap1826
Jonathan1831
Sturmer Pippin1831
rusty-coat1843
Newtowner1846
Northern Spy1847
Cornish gilliflowerc1850
Blenheim Orange1860
Cox1860
nutmeg pippin1860
McIntosh Red1876
Worcester1877
raspberry apple1894
delicious1898
Laxton's Superb1920
Melba apple1928
Melba1933
Mutsu1951
Newtown1953
discovery1964
1577 B. Googe tr. C. Heresbach Foure Bks. Husbandry ii. f. 88 I had an Apple brought me out of Holland, that endured three yeeres: I haue a tree of them here in this Orchard of his colour, called a Greening [L. pomum grande à virore nomen retinens].
1629 J. Parkinson Paradisi in Sole iii. xix. 588 The Boughton or greening is a very good and well tasted apple.
1664 J. Evelyn Pomona iv. 13 in Sylva Russetings and Greenings.
1707 J. Mortimer Whole Art Husbandry 541 The Greening is of a green colour and keeps to a second Year, and is a good Apple.
1832 J. Baxter Libr. Agric. & Hort. Knowl. (ed. 2) 14 Winter Sauce Apples..Yorkshire greening.
1893 Garden & Forest 31 May 239/2 Rich's Greening has much the look of an uncolored Fall Pippin.
1988 Cook's (U.S.) Sept. 32/1 We sorted through a sawdust-filled barrel to find the nippiest Greening or the most unblemished Pippin, whenever the urge for pie baking suddenly came upon her.
2007 M. A. Kalish Little Heathens (2008) xi. 131 I'm sure that the present day Granny Smith was developed from the Greening of our day, though my memory is that the Greening was larger and more juicy.
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the world > food and drink > food > fruit and vegetables > fruit or a fruit > pear > [noun] > other types of pear
calewey1377
choke-pear1530
muscadel1555
lording1573
bon-chrétienc1575
Burgundian pear1578
king pear1585
amiot1600
bergamot1600
butter pear1600
dew-pear1600
greening1600
bottle pear1601
gourd-pear1601
critling1611
pearc1612
nutmeg1629
rosewater pear1629
amber pear1638
Christian1651
chesil1664
diego1664
frith-pear1664
primate1664
saffron pear1664
Windsor pear1664
nonsuch1674
muscat1675
burnt-cat1676
ambrette1686
sanguinole1693
satin1693
St. Germain pear1693
amadot1706
burree1719
Doyenne1731
beurré1736
colmar1736
chaumontel1755
Marie Louise1817
seckel1817
vergaloo1828
Passe Colmar1837
glou-morceau1859
London sugar1860
Kieffer pear1880
sand pear1880
sandy pear1884
nashi1892
the world > plants > particular plants > cultivated or valued plants > particular food plant or plant product > particular types of fruit > [noun] > pear > other types of
calewey1377
honey peara1400
pome-pear1440
pome-wardena1513
choke-pear1530
muscadel1555
worry pear1562
lording1573
bon-chrétienc1575
Burgundian pear1578
king pear1585
pound pear1585
poppering1597
wood of Jerusalem1597
muscadine1598
amiot1600
bergamot1600
butter pear1600
dew-pear1600
greening1600
mollart1600
roset1600
wax pear1600
bottle pear1601
gourd-pear1601
Venerian pear1601
musk pear1611
rose pear1611
pusill1615
Christian1629
nutmeg1629
rolling pear1629
surreine1629
sweater1629
amber pear1638
Venus-pear1648
horse-pear1657
Martin1658
russet1658
rousselet1660
diego1664
frith-pear1664
maudlin1664
Messire Jean1664
primate1664
sovereign1664
spindle-pear1664
stopple-pear1664
sugar-pear1664
virgin1664
Windsor pear1664
violet-pear1666
nonsuch1674
muscat1675
burnt-cat1676
squash pear1676
rose1678
Longueville1681
maiden-heart1685
ambrette1686
vermilion1691
admiral1693
sanguinole1693
satin1693
St. Germain pear1693
pounder pear1697
vine-pear1704
amadot1706
marchioness1706
marquise1706
Margaret1707
short-neck1707
musk1708
burree1719
marquis1728
union pear1728
Doyenne pear1731
Magdalene1731
beurré1736
colmar1736
Monsieur Jean1736
muscadella1736
swan's egg1736
chaumontel1755
St Michael's pear1796
Williams1807
Marie Louise1817
seckel1817
Bartlett1828
vergaloo1828
Passe Colmar1837
glou-morceau1859
London sugar1860
snow-pear1860
Comice1866
Kieffer pear1880
sand pear1880
sandy pear1884
snowy pear1884
1600 R. Surflet tr. C. Estienne & J. Liébault Maison Rustique iii. xlix. 537 Garden, tender and delicate peares, such as are the..hasting, rimolt, mollart, greening, butter peare [etc.].
1611 R. Cotgrave Dict. French & Eng. Tongues Poire de verdelet, the Greening; a tender and delicate Peare.
1632 R. Sherwood Dict. in R. Cotgrave Dict. French & Eng. Tongues (new ed.) (at cited word) A greening peare, verdelet.
1658 J. Evelyn tr. N. de Bonnefons French Gardiner 121 The Greening.
ΘΚΠ
the world > plants > part of plant > leaf > [noun] > leaves or foliage
shadec1000
leafOE
felourea1400
filourc1400
hair1551
leafage1599
foliage1601
umbrage1657
foliature1682
folia1730
greenery1826
leafery1834
feather1842
leafdom1856
leaf mass1857
greening1895
the world > food and drink > farming > animal husbandry > keeping or management of horses > horse-gear > [noun] > ornaments
shomea1310
wamplate1508
hounce1565
ear bow1795
rosette1822
phalera1886
greening1895
horse brass1911
1895 Daily News 24 June 7/1 Horses' heads are crowned with greening.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2011; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
greeningn.3
/ˈɡriːnɪŋ/, U.S. /ˈɡrinɪŋ/, Scottish English /ˈɡrinɪŋ/, /ˈɡrinɪn/ Chiefly Scottish. Now rare.
The action of green v.2; yearning, longing.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > will > wish or inclination > desire > longing or yearning > [noun]
ondeeOE
yearningeOE
longingOE
forlonginga1250
mourningc1300
yering13..
eye-seke?c1500
panting1580
greening1584
smackeringa1586
brame1590
languora1599
earning1603
lingering1608
yawning1635
tantalizing1640
slavering1642
longingness1651
tantalization1654
twittering1668
hankering1678
honing1725
lech1796
yearna1797
languishment1817
yearningness1839
hanker1881
tantalizingness1889
yen1906
1584 King James VI & I Ess. Prentise Poesie sig. D When greening great for fame aboue my pears Did make me lose my wonted chere and rest.
1597 A. Montgomerie Cherrie & Slae 494 Fra anes that thou thy grening get, thy paine and trauel is forzet.
1637 S. Rutherford Let. 6 Jan. in Joshua Redivivus (1664) i. 182 Howbeit my faith were as tender as paper I think longing & dwining & griening of sick desires would cause it bide out the siege.
1755 R. Forbes Shop-bill in tr. Ovid Ajax his Speech (new ed.) 39 Perhaps I may their greening stench, 'ere I hae done.
1776 D. Herd Anc. & Mod. Sc. Songs (ed. 2) II. 171 The lasses had stench'd their greening With fouth of braw apples and beer.
1893 R. O. Heslop Northumberland Words Greening, longing.
1991 T. Scott in T. Hubbard New Makars 42 O let ance the stevin o her hert's howl for me wi greinin fill me.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2011; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
greeningadj.1
/ˈɡriːnɪŋ/, U.S. /ˈɡrinɪŋ/ 1. That is growing or becoming green.In quot. 1590 figurative.
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > colour > named colours > green or greenness > making or becoming green > [adjective]
greening1590
virescent1826
1590 J. Sylvester tr. G. de S. Du Bartas Canticle of Victorie 17 A mightie Monarke must, whilst greening youth doth flower Make one, or two, or three, proofes of his peer-les power.
1800 Monthly Mag. 9 465 The war-steed's hoof-mark hide with greening ears, Twine round the elm once more the trampled vine!
1827 J. Clare Shepherd's Cal. 24 The greening plain.
1885 Ld. Tennyson Early Spring ii From skies of glass A Jacob's ladder falls On greening grass.
1927 J. Buchan Witch Wood v. 92 Small birds who made a cheerful twittering from the greening boughs.
1974 D. Damas in J. Billard World of Amer. Indian 78 (caption) Caribou thunder across the greening tundra of Alaska's North Slope.
1993 National Geographic Traveler Jan.–Feb. 18/2 My wife..and I had..driven north..through the greening farm valleys to spend the weekend in Port Townsend.
2008 New Yorker 7 July 82/3 I took the dogs..through the greening woods, and over the rise to Gerard's cottage.
2. That causes to become green; (in extended use) that causes to flourish.
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > colour > named colours > green or greenness > making or becoming green > [adjective] > making green
greening1833
1833 J. Lindley Princ. Questions Philos. Bot. 55 The result of some experiments upon the action of the coloured rays upon germination... The yellow ray possesses the greening power in the highest degree.
1846 Jrnl. Royal Agric. Soc. 7 ii. 494 The sun's scorching and greening influence.
1958 S. Plath Jrnl. 5 May (2000) 378 The Holyoke range lit purple in the paling light—..and a strange greening spume tipped and stippled the trees.
1986 P. Conroy Prince of Tides (1987) ii. 38 Her voice is a greening thing, an enemy of storm and dark and winter.
1999 P. Kelly Essent. Hildegard in J. Gunn Hildegard 81 The Holy Spirit is greening power in motion.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2011; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
† greeningadj.2
Scottish. Obsolete.
That yearns or longs. Cf. green v.2Used esp. of pregnant women experiencing cravings for certain foods; cf. pica n.2
ΘΚΠ
the mind > will > wish or inclination > desire > longing or yearning > [adjective]
oflongedOE
alonged?a1300
longinga1425
with child1548
yearning1596
wishfula1616
greening1637
tantalized1660
with twins1768
1637 S. Rutherford Lett. (1848) clx. 290 Oh, if he would..let my greening soul see it!
1710 T. Ruddiman in G. Douglas tr. Virgil Æneis (new ed.) Gloss. at Grene A greening wife i.e. a woman with child that hath an extreme longing for some kind of meat, which, if it be denied her, will (as they say) do harm to her or the child.
1737 A. Ramsay Coll. Scots Prov. (1797) 33 Greening wives are ay greedy.
1813 E. Picken Misc. Poems I. 105 Haste ye, than, an' let us cleek it, Or the greenin' days gae doon.
1887 J. Service Life Dr. Duguid iii. vi. 280 Some prime recates [i.e. recipes] which he brocht from the Refectory,..how to mix a posset for a greening wife.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2011; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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n.1a1200
n.21577n.31584adj.11590
adj.21637