driving

Etymology 1

From Middle English dryvyng, drivende, from Old English drīfende, from Proto-Germanic *drībandz, present participle of Proto-Germanic *drībaną (“to drive”), equivalent to drive + -ing. Cognate with Saterland Frisian drieuwend, West Frisian driuwend, Dutch drijvend, German Low German drievend, German treibend, Swedish drivande.

verb

1. present participle and gerund of drive

adj

1. That drives (a mechanism or process).
2. (of wind, rain, etc): That drives forcefully; strong; forceful; violent

Etymology 2

From Middle English driving, drivinge, equivalent to drive + -ing. Compare Dutch drijving, German Treibung.

noun

1. The action of the verb to drive in any sense.
   […] with all its drivings of cattle and all its tithe battles, and all the killings and maimings consequent upon those battles, […] 1825, Cobbett's Political Register, volume 54, page 789
2. In particular, the action of operating a motor vehicle.
   Risk is everywhere. From tabloid headlines insisting that coffee causes cancer (yesterday, of course, it cured it) to stern government warnings about alcohol and driving, the world is teeming with goblins. 2013-06-22, “Snakes and ladders”, in The Economist, volume 407, number 8841, page 76
3. (golf) The act of driving the ball; hitting the ball a long distance, especially from the tee to the putting green.
   Heigh-ho! Sing heigh-ho! my Golf is most shocking; My driving is topping, my caddie's still mocking. 1899, L.P., “Blow, Blow, Thou Winter Wind”, in Golf Illustrated, volume 2, page 233
   Ever since I started talking to myself with this new attitude toward my driving and my performance on the first tee and the first few holes, I have experienced consistently better performance with my driver. 2003, Daniel Stewart Acuff, Golf Talk, page 57
   There is no such being as a golfer uninterested in his driving. 2012, Jeff Silverman, Classic Golf Stories: 26 Incredible Tales from the Links