sting
EnglishEdit
PronunciationEdit
Etymology 1Edit
From Middle English stynge, sting, stenge, from Old English sting, stinċġ (“a sting, stab, thrust made with a pointed instrument; the wound made by a stab or sting”), from Proto-Germanic *stangiz.
NounEdit
sting (plural stings)
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- A bump left on the skin after having been stung.
- Look at this nasty hornet sting, it's turned blue!
- A puncture made by an insect or arachnid in an attack, usually including the injection of venom.
- She died from a snake sting
- A pointed portion of an insect or arachnid used for attack.
- Synonym: stinger
- A sharp, localised pain primarily on the epidermis
- That plant will give a little sting if you touch it.
- (botany) A sharp-pointed hollow hair seated on a gland which secretes an acrid fluid, as in nettles.
- The thrust of a sting into the flesh; the act of stinging; a wound inflicted by stinging.
- c. 1591–1592, William Shakespeare, “The Third Part of Henry the Sixt, […]”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies: Published According to the True Originall Copies (First Folio), London: Printed by Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, OCLC 606515358, [Act II, scene ii]:
- the lurking serpent's mortal sting
- (law enforcement) A police operation in which the police pretend to be criminals in order to catch a criminal.
- The criminal gang was caught after a successful sting.
- A short percussive phrase played by a drummer to accent the punchline in a comedy show.
- A brief sequence of music used in films, TV, and video games as a form of scenic punctuation or to identify the broadcasting station.
- A support for a wind tunnel model which extends parallel to the air flow.
- 2001, T. J. Mueller, Fixed and Flapping Wing Aerodynamics for Micro Air Vehicle Applications, page 118:
- The balance is mounted externally on top of the wind tunnel test section. A sting connects the balance to the model.
- (figuratively) The harmful or painful part of something.
- 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], OCLC 964384981, 1 Corinthians 15:56, column 1:
- The ſting of death is ſinne, […]
- 2011 January 19, Jonathan Stevenson, “Leeds 1 - 3 Arsenal”, in BBC[1]:
- Just as it appeared Arsenal had taken the sting out of the tie, Johnson produced a moment of outrageous quality, thundering a bullet of a left foot shot out of the blue and into the top left-hand corner of Wojciech Szczesny's net with the Pole grasping at thin air.
- A goad; incitement.
- 1609, William Shakespeare, A Lover's Complaint
- The concluding point of an epigram or other sarcastic saying.
SynonymsEdit
- (pointed portion of an insect or arachnid): stinger
TranslationsEdit
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- The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables, removing any numbers. Numbers do not necessarily match those in definitions. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.
Etymology 2Edit
From Middle English stingen, from Old English stingan, from Proto-Germanic *stinganą. Compare Swedish and Icelandic stinga.
VerbEdit
sting (third-person singular simple present stings, present participle stinging, simple past and past participle stung or (rare, dialectal) stang)
- (transitive, intransitive) To hurt, usually by introducing poison or a sharp point, or both.
- An adder came out of a little heathbush, and it stung a man in the foot.
- (transitive, of an insect or arachnid) To puncture with the stinger.
- (intransitive, sometimes figurative) To hurt, to be in pain (physically or emotionally).
- My hand stings after knocking on the door so long.
- Still, it stung when a slightly older acquaintance asked me why I couldn't do any better.
- 2011 January 11, Jonathan Stevenson, “West Ham 2 - 1 Birmingham”, in BBC[2]:
- But Birmingham were clearly stung by some harsh words from manager Alex McLeish at the break and within 15 minutes of the restart the game had an entirely different complexion.
- (figuratively) To cause harm or pain to.
- I thought I could park in front of the hotel, but they stung me for five pounds!
Derived termsEdit
TranslationsEdit
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- The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables, removing any numbers. Numbers do not necessarily match those in definitions. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.
AnagramsEdit
Middle EnglishEdit
NounEdit
sting
- Alternative form of stynge
Norwegian BokmålEdit
EtymologyEdit
From the verb stinge
NounEdit
sting n (definite singular stinget, indefinite plural sting, definite plural stinga or stingene)
ReferencesEdit
- “sting” in The Bokmål Dictionary.
Norwegian NynorskEdit
EtymologyEdit
From the verb stinge
NounEdit
sting m (definite singular stingen, indefinite plural stingar or stinger, definite plural stingane or stingene)
- stitch (pain in the side)
sting n (definite singular stinget, indefinite plural sting, definite plural stinga)
- a stitch (in sewing and surgery)
ReferencesEdit
- “sting” in The Nynorsk Dictionary.
Old EnglishEdit
EtymologyEdit
From Proto-Germanic *stangiz; akin to stingan.
PronunciationEdit
NounEdit
sting m
DescendantsEdit
RomanianEdit
VerbEdit
sting
- first-person singular present indicative of stinge
- first-person singular present subjunctive of stinge
- third-person plural present indicative of stinge
SwedishEdit
PronunciationEdit
Audio (file)
VerbEdit
sting
- imperative of stinga.
AnagramsEdit
WestrobothnianEdit
EtymologyEdit
From Old Norse stinga, from Proto-Germanic *stinganą. Compare Icelandic, Faroese stinga, Swedish stinga, sticka, stånga, English sting.
PronunciationEdit
VerbEdit
sting, stikk (present stikk, preterite stang or stakk, plural ståkk, supine ståkkä, past participle stongän or ståkkä)
- (transitive, intransitive) To sting, stab, gore.