perishingn.
/ˈpɛrᵻʃɪŋ/, U.S. /ˈpɛrɪʃɪŋ/ 1. † b. Spiritual destruction; hell. Obsolete.
a. The death, destruction, deterioration, or loss of a person or thing; the action of dying or killing; an instance of this.
ΘΚΠ
the world > life > death > [noun]
hensithOE
qualmOE
bale-sithea1000
endingc1000
fallOE
forthsitheOE
soulingOE
life's endOE
deathOE
hethensithc1200
last end?c1225
forthfarec1275
dying1297
finec1300
partingc1300
endc1305
deceasec1330
departc1330
starving1340
passingc1350
latter enda1382
obita1382
perishingc1384
carrion1387
departing1388
finishmentc1400
trespassement14..
passing forthc1410
sesse1417
cess1419
fininga1425
resolutiona1425
departisona1450
passagea1450
departmentc1450
consummation?a1475
dormition1483
debt to (also of) naturea1513
dissolutionc1522
expirationa1530
funeral?a1534
change1543
departure1558
last change1574
transmigration1576
dissolving1577
shaking of the sheets?1577
departance1579
deceasure1580
mortality1582
deceasing1591
waftage1592
launching1599
quietus1603
doom1609
expire1612
expiring1612
period1613
defunctiona1616
Lethea1616
fail1623
dismissiona1631
set1635
passa1645
disanimation1646
suffering1651
abition1656
Passovera1662
latter (last) end1670
finis1682
exitus1706
perch1722
demission1735
demise1753
translation1760
transit1764
dropping1768
expiry1790
departal1823
finish1826
homegoing1866
the last (also final, great) round-up1879
snuffing1922
fade-out1924
thirty1929
appointment in Samarra1934
dirt nap1981
big chill1987
the world > life > death > killing > [noun]
mortifyingc1384
perishingc1384
slayinga1400
interfectionc1450
dispatchment1529
killingc1540
dispatch1576
unliving1599
martyring1607
taking offa1616
enecation1657
exanimation1670
(to get) the chop or chopper1945
wipeout1968
hit1970
c1384 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Douce 369(2)) (1850) 1 Macc. iii. 42 Thei knewen wordus of the kyng, whiche he comaundide the peple for to do, in to perishyng and eendyng [L. in interitum et consummationem].
c1450 J. Metham Christmas Day (Garrett) in Wks. (1916) 146 (MED) That yere the wyntyr schuld be meruulus ful off soden tempestys, the qwyche schuld cause gret peryschyng off..schyppys.
c1475 Magnificencia Ecclesie in Publ. Mod. Lang. Assoc. Amer. (1909) 24 694 (MED) Vnder þe modyrs wynge þe chylde is kept clos ffrom perysshyng & perell.
a1540 (c1460) G. Hay tr. Bk. King Alexander 3586 Now am I caus of all the peresing Off all this pepill and of the nobill king.
1565 in D. H. Fleming Reg. Christian Congregation St. Andrews (1889) I. 251 To procur in the caus of Elizabeth Payt..for this diet to save hyr caus fra paresing becaus sche is seik and maye nocht compeir.
1601 Act 43 Eliz. c. 12 By meanes of which Policies of Assurance it commeth to passe, vpon the losse or perishing of any ship, there [etc.].
1618 B. Holyday Τεχνογαμια iv. iv A Poet, that hauing beene buried..two or three hundred yeeres, has beene taken vp againe whole, without the least perishing of his skinne.
1719 D. Defoe Life Robinson Crusoe 221 They..were carry'd out into the great Ocean, where there was nothing but Misery and Perishing.
1768 A. Tucker Light of Nature Pursued II. iii. xxix. 429 Painfull perishings by fire.
1815 W. Wordsworth White Doe of Rylstone vii. 113 A perishing That mocks the gladness of the Spring!
1864 W. W. Skeat tr. J. L. Uhland Songs & Ballads 74 Feuds and traitorous deeds And perishing of precious seeds.
1927 V. Woolf To Lighthouse i. vi. 56 The waste of the years and the perishing of the stars.
1998 B. Kingsolver Poisonwood Bible (1999) iii. 296 In the long perishing of children from kakakaka I saw the air change color.
ΘΚΠ
the world > the supernatural > deity > hell > [noun]
helleOE
hellOE
perditiona1382
perishingc1384
welling woea1400
hellwardc1400
Topheta1425
gehenne1481
to devilwardc1550
limbo1581
Averna1592
Hades1597
Sheol1599
other place1604
underworld1608
infernals1613
gehenna1623
lower world1639
netherworld1640
pandemonium1667
subterrenea1711
diablerie1776
inferno1834
ballyhooly1837
nether region1839
Sam Hill1839
Ballyhack1843
tunket1871
bogydom1880
the world > existence and causation > creation > destruction > [noun] > destruction of essence or unity of a thing
perishingc1384
corruptiona1606
c1384 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Royal) (1850) Apoc. xvii. 8 The beest..shal go in to perisching [L. in interitum].
?a1425 tr. Catherine of Siena Orcherd of Syon (Harl.) (1966) 59 Seeþ how wel þat soule had kepte in mynde..speedful remedyes for reparacioun of al þe world þat was in perel of pereschynge.
a1500 (c1340) R. Rolle Psalter (Univ. Oxf. 64) (1884) xiii. 4 A wickid man drawis an other til wickidnes, swa that ilkan is cause of other perischynge.
1577 W. Allen Lett. (1872) 32 The spiritual harvest and workmannshipp in England, which must needs to the perishinge of infinite soueles.
1643 J. Milton Doctr. Divorce 21 Who shall answer for the perishing of all those souls.
c. The change in state of rubber when it perishes.
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > materials > raw material > rubber > [noun] > the ageing of rubber
perishing1913
1913 B. D. Porritt Chem. Rubber i. 12 The oxidation of rubber..is technically known as ‘perishing’.
1954 H. J. Stern Rubber v. 152 The ‘perishing’ of rubber, particularly of manufactured rubber articles, has been a source of trouble to all concerned.
1981 P. Sykes Guidebk. to Mechanism in Org. Chem. (ed. 5) xi. 318 Autoxidation is also responsible for deleterious changes, particularly in materials containing unsaturated linkages, e.g. rancidity in fats, and perishing of rubber.
1995 J. Miller & M. Stacey Driving Instructor's Handbk. (ed. 8) vi. 180 Clean the wiper blade rubbers... Renew blades if there is any sign of perishing or brittleness.
ΘΚΠ
the world > existence and causation > creation > destruction > [noun]
end832
bale-sithea1000
wrakea1275
wonderc1275
destroyingc1300
destruction1340
contritionc1384
stroying1396
undoing1398
tininga1400
ruinc1425
fatec1430
fordoingc1450
perishing?1523
shipwreck1526
pernicion?1530
ruining1562
ruinating1587
defeasance1590
defeature1592
breakneck1598
ruination1599
defeat1600
doom1609
planet-striking1611
mismaking1615
rasurea1616
destructa1638
perition1640
interemption1656
smashing1821
degrowth1876
uncreation1884
creative destruction1927
?1523 J. Fitzherbert Bk. Husbandry f. xxviiv Se the knyfe go no depar than the thyckenesse of the bone, for perysshinge of the brayne.
c1540 (?a1400) Gest Historiale Destr. Troy 11986 Put hir in some place fro perisshyng of hondes, Þat the grekes hir not get, ne to grem brynge.
1690 J. Locke Two Treat. Govt. ii. v. §46 The exceeding of the bounds of his just property..the perishing of anything uselessly.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2005; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
perishingadj.adv.
/ˈpɛrᵻʃɪŋ/, U.S. /ˈpɛrɪʃɪŋ/ A. adj.
1. That perishes (in various senses); that undergoes decay, destruction, dissolution, or death; decaying, dying; transient, passing out of existence or use.
ΘΚΠ
the world > time > duration > shortness or brevity in time > swift movement of time > [adjective]
slidinga900
scrithingOE
henwardOE
swifta1225
short livya1325
passing1340
flittingc1374
shadowy1374
temporalc1384
speedfula1400
transitory?c1400
brittlea1425
unabidingc1430
frail?c1450
indurablec1450
scrithel?c1475
caduke1483
transitorious1492
passanta1500
perishinga1500
caducea1513
fugitive?1518
caducal?1548
quick1548
delible1549
flittering1549
undurable?1555
shadowish1561
fleeting1563
vading1566
flightful1571
wanzing1571
transitive1575
slipping1581
diary1583
unlasting1585
never-lasting1588
flit1590
post-like1594
running1598
short-lived1598
short-winded1598
transient1599
unpermanent1607
flashy1609
of a day1612
passable1613
dureless1614
urgenta1616
waxena1616
decayable1617
horary1620
evanid1626
fugitable1628
short-dated1632
fugacious1635
ephemerala1639
impermanent1653
fungous1655
volatile1655
ephemerousa1660
unimmortal1667
timesome1674
while-being1674
of passage1680
journal1685
ephemeron1714
admovent1727
evanescent1728
meteorous1750
deciduous1763
preterient1786
ephemeridal1795
meteorica1802
meteor1803
ephemerean1804
ephemerid1804
evanescing1805
fleeted1810
fleet1812
unenduring1814
unremaining1817
unimmortalized1839
impersistent1849
flighty1850
uneternal1862
caducous1863
diurnal1866
horarious1866
brisk1879
evasive1881
picaresque1959
the world > matter > condition of matter > bad condition of matter > [adjective] > decayed > decaying
perishinga1500
decaying1530
yellow1566
fretting1821
a1500 tr. Thomas à Kempis De Imitatione Christi (Trin. Dublin) (1893) 2 (MED) A man to seke perisshyng ryches and to truste in hem is vanite.
1579 G. Harvey Let. 23 Oct. in J. C. Smith & E. de Selincourt Poet. Wks. Edmund Spenser (1912) 639/2 Vertue, the onely immortall and suruiuing Accident amongst so manye mortall and euer-perishing Substaunces.
1603 S. Daniel Def. Ryme in Panegyrike (new ed.) sig. Hv To implore the ayde of christian Princes, for the succouring of perishing Greece.
1664 B. Gerbier Counsel to Builders (new ed.) i. sig. d The perishing Buildings of mortals.
1710 J. Swift in J. Swift & R. Steele Tatler No. 230 All new, affected Modes of Speech..are the first perishing Parts in any Language.
1739 D. Hume Treat. Human Nature I. iv. 339 Since all impressions are internal and perishing existences, and appear as such.
1797 S. T. Coleridge Raven in Compl. Poet. Wks. (1912) I. 171 He heard the last shriek of the perishing souls.
1844 N. P. Willis Psyche 36 The glory of the human form Is but a perishing thing.
1887 T. Hardy Woodlanders I. i. 12 The scent of decay from the perishing leaves under foot.
1925 Woman's World (Chicago) Apr. 35/3 Those awful axminsters whereon brave Bruno carries a flask to the perishing child.
2001 T. Winton Dirt Music (2003) 46 A thick roll of money bound in a perishing rubber band.
2.
a. That causes or is liable to cause a person or thing to perish; potentially deadly; spec. (of weather) extremely cold.
ΘΚΠ
the world > life > death > cause of death > [adjective]
deadlyc893
deathlyOE
deathfula1250
mortalc1390
capitalc1426
exitialc1475
fey1488
mortuala1500
perishinga1500
fatal?1518
ferial1528
mortiferousa1538
deadc1540
exitious?1545
deathlike1548
mortifying1555
starvingc1600
lethal1604
speedingc1604
vital1612
irrecoverable1614
feral1621
lethiferous1651
mortific1651
mortifical1657
daggering1694
exitiose1727
fateful1764
kill-devil1831
unsurvivable1839
lethiferal1848
tachythanatous1860
a1500 ( J. Yonge tr. Secreta Secret. (Rawl.) (1898) 246 (MED) Bestis that no recepte haue, tremblyth, empeyryth, and mournyth for the colde and moistnesse, wych is perissynge and contrarie to the lyfe.
1635 E. Rainbow Labour 22 It cannot be said to be causally perishing.
1753 C. Lennox Shakespear Illustr. II. 194 Heavy Stripes, Fetters,..ravenous Hunger and perishing Cold.
1779 C. Dibdin Mirror ii. ii. 18 'Tis such perishing weather the females can't venture out.
1813 T. Busby in tr. Lucretius Nature of Things II. v. Comm. p. vi Destroyed by..the perishing power of frost.
1893 Earl of Dunmore Pamirs II. 138 A night of perishing cold.
a1918 W. Owen Coll. Poems (1963) 129 War broke: and now the Winter of the world With perishing great darkness closes in.
1998 National Trust Mag. Autumn 21/1 The oaks did not grow in time to provide shelter from the perishing north-east winds.
b. Australian. In a state of suffering due to extremely hot and dry conditions; liable to perish of thirst. Also of weather or land: extremely hot and dry. Cf. perish n. 2, perisher n. 1b. Now rare.
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > properties of materials > temperature > heat > [adjective] > having or communicating much heat > oppressively > oppressed with heat
swelteda1634
sweltry1635
broiling1648
sweltering1652
sweltered1798
swolten1876
perishing1883
1847 C. Brontë Jane Eyre II. ii. 45 A pleasure like what the thirst-perishing man might feel who knows the well to which he has crept is poisoned.]
1883 J. Furphy Diary 9 Sept. in Such is Life (1903) i. 13 It's a dirty transaction to refuse water to perishing beasts.
1898 E. Dyson Below & on Top 80 The perishing beasts in the pens below toss up their heads.
1941 I. L. Idriess Great Boomerang xvii. 124 Sixty miles to water, along a perishing track on a perishing day.
1957 F. Cline Fortune Hunters 49 I've had to put up with a lot of tough going to bring in perishing blokes who got off the beaten track, and a few who were on the beaten track!
3. colloquial. Confounded, troublesome; insignificant. rare before mid 19th cent.Now frequently in weakened use as an intensifier.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > goodness and badness > inferiority or baseness > inferior thing > [adjective]
salec1299
bastarda1348
sorry1372
slight1393
shrewd1426
singlec1449
backc1450
soberc1450
lesser1464
silly?a1500
starven1546
mockado1577
subaltern1578
bastardly1583
wooden1592
starved1604
perishing1605
starveling1611
minor1612
starvy1647
potsherd1655
low1727
la-la1800
waif1824
lathen1843
one-eyed1843
snide1859
bobbery1873
jerkwater1877
low-grade1878
shoddy1882
tinhorn1886
jerk1893
cheapie1898
shaganappi1900
buckeye1906
reach-me-down1907
pissy1922
crappy1928
cruddy1935
el cheapo1967
pound shop1989
the mind > attention and judgement > importance > unimportance > [adjective] > of little importance or trivial
eathlyc890
lighteOE
littleOE
small?c1225
singlec1449
easy1474
triflous1509
naughty1526
slender1530
slight1548
shrimpish1549
slipper1567
truanta1572
toyous1581
trivious1583
mean1585
silly1587
nicea1594
puny?1594
puisne1598
pusill1599
whindling1601
sapless1602
non-significant1603
poor1603
unsignificant1603
flea-bite1605
perishing1605
lank1607
weightless1610
fonda1616
penny farthing1615
triviala1616
unweighty1621
transitory1637
twattling1651
inconsiderate1655
unserious1655
nugal1656
small drink1656
slighty1662
minute1668
paddling1679
snitling1682
retail1697
Lilliputian1726
vain1731
rattletrap1760
peppercornish1762
peppercorn1791
underling1804
venial1806
lightweight1809
floccinaucical1826
small-bore1833
minified1837
trantlum1838
piffling1848
tea-tabular1855
potty1860
whipping-snapping1861
tea-gardeny1862
quiddling1863
twaddling1863
fidgeting1865
penny ante1865
feather-weighted1870
jerkwater1877
midget1879
mimsy1880
shirttail1881
two-by-four1885
footle1894
skittery1905
footery1929
Mickey Mouse1931
chickenshit1934
minoritized1945
marginal1952
marginalized1961
tea-party1961
little league1962
marginalizing1977
minnowy1991
1605 B. Jonson Sejanus ii. sig. E Sei. Then, is there one Cremutius Cordus,..a most tart And bitter spirit (I heare)... Tib. A perishing wretch. View more context for this quotation
1847 E. Brontë Wuthering Heights II. xiii. 266 Do you imagine..that healthy, hearty girl, will tie herself to a little perishing monkey like you?
1903 R. Kipling Five Nations 196 We were sugared about by the old men (Panicky, perishin' old men).
1952 M. Allingham Tiger in Smoke iv. 75 These perishing crooks, who do they think they are all of a sudden?
1987 A. Pilling Henry's Leg (BNC) 46 Henry wished now he'd not made such a fuss about the perishing uniform.
B. adv. Chiefly colloquial.
1. Perishingly; excessively, extremely.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > quantity > greatness of quantity, amount, or degree > high or intense degree > [adverb] > extremely or exceedingly > excessively
cruellyc1385
overa1400
fullc1400
parlouslyc1425
mortalc1440
perilousc1440
spitefulc1450
devilish1560
pestilently1567
spitefully1567
cruel1573
parlous1575
deadly1589
intolerable?1593
fellc1600
perditlya1632
excessively1634
devilishly1635
desperate1636
woundya1639
woundlya1644
desperately1653
wicked1663
killing1672
woundily1706
wounded1753
mortally1759
dreadful1762
intolerably1768
perishing1776
tremendously1776
terrifically1777
diabolically1792
woundedly1794
thundering1809
all-firedly1833
preponderously1835
painfully1839
deadlilya1843
severely1854
furiously1856
diabolish1858
fiendish1861
demonish1867
sinfully1869
fiendishly1879
thunderingly1885
only too1889
nightmarishly1891
God almighty1906
Christ almighty1945
1776 L. Carter Diary 3 Feb. (1965) II. 974 In the Perishing dead coldness in anything of a snowy season it is a thousand to one but it [sc. a lamb] dies unless kept by a fireside.
1886 R. L. Stevenson Kidnapped v. 46 But what are we standing here for? It's perishing cold.
1906 Westm. Gaz. 26 Feb. 4/2 I'm perishing hungry. I feel as if I should drop.
1933 M. Lowry Ultramarine ii. 63 You've been a perishing long time with that coffee!
1993 P. O'Brian Wine-dark Sea vi. 164 The wind, blowing off the high Cordillera, grew perishing cold to those who were always dripping wet.
2. Used as an intensifier. rare.
ΚΠ
1959 M. Gilbert Blood & Judgement v. 54 He..turns right at the top, because it's the only way he perishing well can turn.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2005; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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n.c1384
adj.adv.a1500