ming

See also Ming, mīng, míng, mǐng, mìng, and Míng

English

Pronunciation

• (UK, US) IPA: /mɪŋ/

Etymology 1

From Middle English mingen, mengen, from Old English mengan (“to mix, combine, unite, associate with, consort, cohabit with, disturb, converse”), from Proto-Germanic *mangijaną (“to mix, knead”), from Proto-Indo-European *menk- (“to rumple, knead”). Cognate with Dutch mengen (“to mix, blend, mingle”), German mengen (“to mix”), Danish mænge (“to rub”), Old English ġemang (“mixture, union, troop, crowd, multitude, congregation, assembly, business, cohabitation”). More at among.

Alternative forms

• minge, meng

Verb

ming (third-person singular simple present mings, present participle minging, simple past and past participle minged, meint, or ment)

1. (now rare) To mix, blend, mingle.
2. (obsolete) To bring (people, animals etc.) together; to be joined, in marriage or sexual intercourse.
   • 1590, Edmund Spenser, The Faerie Queene, I.ii:

     the old man [...] him brought into a secret part, / Where that false couple were full closely ment / In wanton lust and lewd embracement [...].

3. (UK, dialectal) To produce through mixing; especially, to knead.

Noun

ming (plural mings)

1. Mixture.

Etymology 2

Backformation from minging.

Verb

ming (third-person singular simple present mings, present participle minging, simple past and past participle minged)

1. (UK, slang) To be unattractive (person or object).
2. (UK, slang) To be foul smelling.

Related terms

• minger
• minging

Etymology 3

From Middle English mingen, mengen, mungen, muneȝen, from Old English myngian, mynegian, ġemynegian (“to bring to mind, have in mind”), from myne (“mind”), from ġemunan (“to remember”), from Proto-Germanic *munaną (“to think”), from Proto-Indo-European *men- (“to think”). Merged in Middle English with Old English ġemyndgian (“to remember, be mindful, remind, intend, commemorate, mention, exhort, impel, warn, demand payment”). More at mind.

Alternative forms

• minge

Verb

ming (third-person singular simple present mings, present participle minging, simple past and past participle minged)

1. (transitive) To speak of; mention; tell; relate.
2. (intransitive) To speak; tell; talk; discourse.

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Mandarin

Romanization

ming

1. Nonstandard spelling of mīng.
2. Nonstandard spelling of míng.
3. Nonstandard spelling of mǐng.
4. Nonstandard spelling of mìng.

Usage notes

English transcriptions of Chinese speech often fail to distinguish between the critical tonal differences employed in the Chinese language, using words such as this one without the appropriate indication of tone.

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Scots

Noun

ming (plural mings)

1. smell