hanging

Etymology 1

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

verb

1. present participle and gerund of hang

adj

1. Suspended.
   The hanging vines made the house look older than it was.
2. (chess, of a piece) Unprotected and exposed to capture.
3. (baseball, slang, of an off-speed pitch) Hittable; poorly executed by the pitcher, hence relatively easy to hit.
   hanging breaking ball
   hanging slider
4. (UK, slang, of a person, originally Manchester) Ugly; very unattractive; disgusting.
   MUGSEY: Yeah. You fancy ‘im don’ you. LEANNE: No I don’t. Shut yer mouth. MUGSEY: Your mum said he’s gonna end up just like his dad. LEANNE: She don’ even know Bingo. Anyway, I don’t fancy ‘im, ‘e’s hanging. 2007, Summer Scars (film screenplay)

Etymology 2

From Middle English hangynge, honginge, equivalent to hang + -ing. Compare Old English hengen (“hanging”) and hōhing (“hanging”).

noun

1. (countable, uncountable) The act of hanging a person (or oneself) by the neck in order to kill that person (or to commit suicide).
   Hanging is the punishment for one convicted of war crimes, there.
   The hanging of the bandits was attended by the whole village.
   No, Sir, 'tis fear of Hanging. Who would not ſteal, or do Murder, every time his Fingers itch'd at it, were it not for fear of the Gallows? 1728, Thomas Otway, “The Atheist, or, the Second Part of the Soldier's Fortune”, in The Works of Mr. Thomas Otway, volume 2, London, page 37
   It was just too bad that Milosevic died of "natural" causes in his cell in 2006 before he was convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment, although a hanging would have been preferable. 10 March 2022, Peter Lucas, “Lucas: Putin has blood on his hands and The Hague must make him pay”, in Boston Herald, archived from the original on 2022-08-06
2. (countable) Anything that is hung as a decorative element (such as curtains, gobelins, or posters).
   The various hangings on that Christmas tree look nice.
3. (uncountable) The way in which hangings (decorations) are arranged.
   I dislike the cramped hanging in the gallery of 18th century painters.