riding
/ˈɹaɪ.dɪŋ/ noun, proper noun
Also a form of ride
Forms ridings
- noun A path cut through woodland.
- noun The act of one who rides; a mounted excursion.
- noun The behaviour in the motion of a vehicle, such as oscillation.
- noun (historical) A festival procession.
- noun (historical) Any of the three administrative divisions of Yorkshire and some other northern counties of England.
- noun (Canada) Electoral district or constituency.
- proper noun A surname.
Synonyms
Etymology
From Middle English rydyng; equivalent to ride + -ing.
From trithing (initial /t/ absorbed into preceding north, south, east, west, inner ⟨th⟩ already sometimes /d/ in Middle English), from Middle English trithing, tridinge, from Old English *þriþing, from Old Norse þriðjungr (“third part”), from Proto-Germanic *þridjô (“third”) (English third). Equivalent to third + -ing; compare with farthing (“fourth part”). Cognate with English trithing.
The folk etymology that connects the term to the area a horse-rider could cover in a single day is incorrect, but may have influenced the spelling and pronunciation.
Webster’s 1913
- noun One of the three jurisdictions into which the county of York, in England, is divided; --formerly under the government of reeve.
- adjective Employed to travel; traveling; as, a riding clerk. "One riding apparitor." Ayliffe.
- adjective Used for riding on; as, a riding horse.
- noun The act or state of one who rides.
Etymology [For thriding, Icel. pr the third part, fr. pri third, akin to E. third. See Third.]
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “riding”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details