In nouns of action (gerunds) formed from verb stems, either inherited from OE, e.g. asking(e, chidinge, groninge, lathinge, or first recorded or formed in ME, e.g. ac(c)ountinge, discussing, foung, greting(e ger. (2), grousing, takinge. These sometimes have verbal characteristics, and can be modified by adverbs, e.g. biholding, or are followed by a direct obj., e.g. colding, craving, doing(e, holding(e. Semantic divisions are generally: (a) the act or process of doing or being done; (b) the thing or condition resulting from an action, e.g. abaishing, dighting, gaderinge [cp. OE gaderung]; (c) that which is acted upon, e.g. askinge, chepinge, coveiting, deiing, offringe [cp. OE offrung what is offered]; (d) the art or ability to do (sth.), e.g. defiing ger. (2), deling, fonging; (e) the right to do (sth.), e.g. feding, fishing; (f) the place or time of an action, e.g. bigginge, derkinge, erdinge [cp. OE eardung]; (g) that which performs an action, e.g. binding(e, bodinge, deliting, dependinge; (h) an instrument or means by which an act is performed, e.g. arming, deming, fastning(e.

In a kind of collective or indefinite nouns, meaning either 'a supply of something'; -- perh. through the sense of 'the means of supplying something'; or 'an indefinite quantity or kind of something'. These were formed first on verb stems, later on nouns, e.g. celing [from cēlen v. (1)], horsing(e ger. (1) [from horsen v.], housing [from housen], alouring [from alour], eling [from ele n. (2)], gresinge ger. (2) [from gres].

In place names [see Smith PNElem. 1.282-98].