preyingn.
/ˈpreɪɪŋ/, U.S. /ˈpreɪɪŋ/ The action of prey v.; pillaging, plundering; predation. Also: an instance of this.
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c1450 ( tr. Vegetius De Re Militari (Digby) f. 71v (MED) Of preyeng [a1450 Douce Loke þyn enbusshement be redy þat to falle on hem þat..ben fer from her felauschip for foraieng of vitailes or pray of bestes].
1588 T. Kyd tr. T. Tasso Housholders Philos. f. 22v In the olde time, prayeng or robberye was not to be blamed.
1622 G. Markham & W. Sampson Herod & Antipater ii. i. l. 690 The Hauke, once made to prey, takes all delight in preying.
1651 T. Hobbes Philos. Rudim. xiii. §14. 203 Preying is nothing else but a warre waged with small forces.
1698 Philos. Trans. (Royal Soc.) 20 111 But for the preying upon these, 'tis very nimble in climbing up trees.
1716 M. Davies Athenæ Britannicæ III. iii. 34 As for..Watchings and Preyings upon all the Advantages, that he can possibly skrue himself into.
1762 S. Scott Descr. Millenium Hall 71 The suppression and inward preyings of her sorrow should prove fatal to her life.
1806 S. T. Coleridge Let. 17 June in Mod. Lang. Notes (1930) 45 16 Enough of it, continual vexations and preyings upon the spirit.
1871 Amer. Naturalist 5 237 In their mode of preying..they are removed from the lymphatic buzzards to such a degree.
1897 M. Kingsley Trav. W. Afr. App. i. 664 I hate the preying upon emotional sympathy by misrepresentation.
1933 Condor 35 29 A widely selective preying upon subnormal wild life is hinted at by the visible condition of some Sciuridae taken..from red-tail nests.
1961 R. Moore Man, Time, & Fossils (ed. 2) v. 89 The preying of other animals and the rigors of the environment kept down the excess.
1994 Vanity Fair (N.Y.) May 44/3 A flyblown railway terminal is the preying point for those who devour runaway children.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, March 2007; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
preyingadj.
/ˈpreɪɪŋ/, U.S. /ˈpreɪɪŋ/ Esp. of an animal: that preys; predatory. Also figurative: that preys on the mind; gnawing, troubling.
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the world > food and drink > hunting > hunter > [adjective] > preying (of animal)
preyful1598
preying1611
1611 J. Florio Queen Anna's New World of Words at Alita A kind of praing bird.
1655 R. Fanshawe tr. L. de Camoens Lusiad viii. lv. 165 As some, who in a simple Coat Have trust an Hypocrite (a preying Foule).
1712 E. Arwaker Pia Desideria (ed. 4) iii. vii. 189 In this rapacious Species we may find All that's destructive in the preying kind; Lion, Woolf, Tyger, Bear, and Crocodile.
1770 E. Thompson Court of Cupid 25 Thus in your nets, as preying Spiders lie, You seize the harlot, as they seize the fly.
1798 M. Wollstonecraft Maria i. iii. 58 My only refuge from the preying activity of my mind, was books.
1822 J. M. Good Study Med. III. 91 Preying anxiety, or lurking discontent.
1876 G. Meredith Beauchamp's Career II. v. 80 It is bad policy to distrust a reasonably guileless member of the preying sex entirely, and so to lose his good services.
1932 Ecol. Monogr. 2 21 Protective coloration and evident absence of scent..no doubt save many fawns from preying beasts that would otherwise make meals of them.
1985 A. Booth-Moores Garden Pools, Waterfalls & Fountains ix. 88 It is advisable to remove some of the plant material covered in spawn away from the preying adults.
2003 B. Rodgers & S. Douglas Compl. Idiot's Guide to Running i. 42 Unfortunately, daydreaming drivers and preying pouncers are part of our world.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, March 2007; most recently modified version published online June 2022).
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n.c1450adj.1611