Hanging
['hæŋɪŋ]
Definition
(noun.) a form of capital punishment; victim is suspended by the neck from a gallows or gibbet until dead; 'in those days the hanging of criminals was a public entertainment'.
(noun.) decoration that is hung (as a tapestry) on a wall or over a window; 'the cold castle walls were covered with hangings'.
Edited by Hamilton--From WordNet
Definition
(p. pr. & vb. n.) of Hang
(a.) Requiring, deserving, or foreboding death by the halter.
(a.) Suspended from above; pendent; as, hanging shelves.
(a.) Adapted for sustaining a hanging object; as, the hanging post of a gate, the post which holds the hinges.
(n.) The act of suspending anything; the state of being suspended.
(n.) Death by suspension; execution by a halter.
(n.) That which is hung as lining or drapery for the walls of a room, as tapestry, paper, etc., or to cover or drape a door or window; -- used chiefly in the plural.
Typist: Lucas
Synonyms and Synonymous
n. [1]. Suspension.[2]. Death by the halter.
Checked by Giselle
Unserious Contents or Definition
To see a large concourse of people gathering at a hanging, denotes that many enemies will club together to try to demolish your position in their midst. See Execution.
Inputed by Leonard
Examples
- Putting out my hand I felt several coats hanging from the wall, and I understood that I was in a passage. Arthur Conan Doyle. The Return of Sherlock Holmes.
- When the maid entered, about seven, there the unfortunate fellow was hanging in the middle of the room. Arthur Conan Doyle. The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes.
- I was glad thou wert hanging over my back when the shots were coming from behind us. Hemingway, Ernest. For Whom The Bell Tolls.
- The photograph shows the hanging car of the Russia. Various. The Wonder Book of Knowledge.
- He sat quiet in a corner, with his fat hands hanging over his thick knees, and his head down, and his eyes looking at nothing. Wilkie Collins. The Woman in White.
- On the other hand, you can't admit but what it's natural in us to be anxious with such a thing hanging over our heads. Charles Dickens. Bleak House.
- Steyne was hanging over the sofa on which Becky sat. William Makepeace Thackeray. Vanity Fair.
- Is my handkerchief hanging out of my pocket, my dear? Charles Dickens. Oliver Twist.
- Hanging about the doorway (I fancied,) were slouchy Pompeiian street-boys uttering slang and profanity, and keeping a wary eye out for checks. Mark Twain. The Innocents Abroad.
- Sam's audience hanging on his words with open mouth, he could not but proceed. Harriet Beecher Stowe. Uncle Tom's Cabin.
- They trailed off to the dealer, the handsome but abject young fellow hanging a little aside. D. H. Lawrence. Women in Love .
- Allow me to have the felicity of hanging up your nightcap, Sir. Charles Dickens. The Pickwick Papers.
- Hanging is too good for him, said Mr. Cruelty. George Eliot. Middlemarch.
- On either side are represented as hanging small pictures of Tycho's patron, Frederick II of Denmark (d. Walter Libby. An Introduction to the History of Science.
- Yes, yes, my dear, so it does,' said the Jew, hanging a large street-door key on the forefinger of the young lady's right hand. Charles Dickens. Oliver Twist.
- Yes, said Mr. Brooke, this would be a pretty room with some new hangings, sofas, and that sort of thing. George Eliot. Middlemarch.
- He lifted the hangings from the wall, uncovering the second door: this, too, he opened. Charlotte Bronte. Jane Eyre.
- Some thick old hangings had been nailed up before the windows, to deaden the sound of the shrieks. Charles Dickens. A Tale of Two Cities.
- From the hangings and sumptuous furniture of the room I judged it to be a living-room of some priestess, possibly of Issus herself. Edgar Rice Burroughs. The Gods of Mars.
- My guide drew aside one of the tapestries, disclosing a passage which encircled the room, between the hangings and the walls of the chamber. Edgar Rice Burroughs. A Princess of Mars.
Editor: Tess