English edit

Etymology 1 edit

From Middle English sermonynge; equivalent to sermon +‎ -ing.

Noun edit

sermoning (plural sermonings)

  1. (obsolete) The act of discoursing; instruction; preaching.

Etymology 2 edit

Verb edit

sermoning

  1. present participle and gerund of sermon

Part or all of this entry has been imported from the 1913 edition of Webster’s Dictionary, which is now free of copyright and hence in the public domain. The imported definitions may be significantly out of date, and any more recent senses may be completely missing.
(See the entry for sermoning”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.)

Middle English edit

Alternative forms edit

Noun edit

sermoning

  1. Alternative form of sermonynge
    • late 14th century, Geoffrey Chaucer, The Knight's Tale, The Canterbury Tales, line 3090-3092:
      Than seyde he thus to Palamon ful right;
      ‘I trowe ther nedeth litel sermoning
      To make yow assente to this thing.’
      Then said he thus to Palamon the knight;
      ‘I suppose little preaching is needed here
      To make you assent to this thing.’