leafletingn.
/ˈliːflᵻtɪŋ/, U.S. /ˈliflᵻdɪŋ/ The distribution of leaflets; an instance of this. Also occasionally: the composition or production of leaflets.
ΘΚΠ
society > communication > information > publishing or spreading abroad > publishing or spreading by leaflets or notices > [noun] > leafleting
leaflet campaign1885
leaflet raid1933
leaflet drop1945
leafleting1945
1945 Psychol. Warfare Div. vii. 48 The one remaining problem was the inaccuracy of the leafleting.
1962 Spectator 24 Aug. 268/3 Thousands of campaigners will be putting this case..by leafletting and pamphleteering.
1969 Oxf. Univ. Gaz. 99 Suppl. vii. 156 The Proctors announced the withdrawal of the regulation prohibiting indiscriminate leafleting.
1993 Time 9 Aug. 42/1 These white supremacists began using skinheads as ‘front-line troops’ in leafletings, recruiting and violent crimes.
2012 Daily Tel. 14 Nov. 3/1 About one in three councils restricts leafleting, with charges running to hundreds of pounds per day.
Compounds
General attributive, esp. in leafleting campaign.
ΚΠ
1949 D. Lerner Skyewar ix. 243 The modifications of the M64 shell for leafleting purposes caused its performance to vary considerably from this standard range.
1960 High Point (N. Carolina) Enterprise 19 Feb. 1/5 The union..had put on ‘a massive leafleting campaign’..at 500 unorganized mills in the South.
1967 in Decisions & Orders National Labor Relations Board (U.S.) (1970) 166 718/1 [They] both admittedly engaged in surveillance of the union organizers' leafleting operation.
2001 Birmingham Post (Nexis) 1 Nov. 4 It organised discussion groups, public meetings and a touring exhibition bus, in addition to its leafleting exercise.
2015 Canberra Times (Nexis) 25 May a7 A registration drive had brought in more than 100,000 new voters since November,..extensive leafleting campaigns took place and posters were ubiquitous.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, September 2016; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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n.1945