passing

Etymology

From pass + -ing.

verb

1. present participle and gerund of pass

adj

1. That passes away; ephemeral.
   And solace sought he none from priest nor leech, / And soon the same in movement and in speech / As heretofore he fill'd the passing hours […] 1814, Lord Byron, Lara, I.15
   It might be possible to dismiss #dittowatch as just another passing internet fancy. After all, hashtags are ephemeral. 21 Sep 2010, Marianne Kirby, The Guardian
2. (now rare, literary) Pre-eminent, excellent, extreme.
   It was by dint of passing strength, / That he moved the massy stone at length. 1835, Washington Irving, The Crayon Miscellany
   That parliament was destined, in one short hour of convulsive strength, in one short hour of passing glory, to humble the pride and alarm the fears of England. 1847, Robert Holmes, The Case of Ireland Stated
3. Vague, cursory.
   to make a passing comment
   Ardent pro-lifer Rick Santorum made one passing reference to "authenticity" as a litmus test for a conservative candidate, but if he was obliquely referring to Romney (and he was), you could be excused for missing the dig. 14 Jun 2011, Stewart J Lawrence, The Guardian
4. Going past.
   passing cars

adv

1. (literary or archaic) Surpassingly, greatly.
   … for she was called a fair lady, and a passing wise, and her name was called Igraine. July 1485, Sir Thomas Malory, chapter I, in William Caxton, editor, Le Morte D’Arthur, volume 1
   She's passing fair; but so demure is she / So quiet is her gown, so smooth her hair, […] 1926, Dorothy Parker, “Roundel”, in Enough Rope, page 89
   I find it passing strange that convicts understand honest folk, but honest folk don't understand convicts. 2010-10-29, Simon Hattenstone, quoting David Taylor, “Letters from lifers”, in The Guardian

noun

1. Death, dying; the end of something.
2. The fact of going past; a movement from one place to another or a change from one state to another.
   And since he did not see Louie by the folding door, Louie knew that in his former passings and repassings he could not have seen her either. 1913, Oliver Onions, The Story of Louie
3. (law) The act of approving a bill etc.
4. (sports) The act of passing a ball etc. to another player.
5. A form of juggling where several people pass props between each other, usually clubs or rings.
6. (sociology) The ability of a person to be regarded as a member of an identity group or category different from their own.
   Coordinate term: pass
   When there is a discrepancy between an individual's actual social identity and his virtual one, it is possible for this fact to be known to us before we normals contact him, or to be quite evident when he presents himself before us. He is a discredited person, and it is mainly he I have been dealing with until now. … However, when his differentness is not immediately apparent, and is not known beforehand, … he is a discreditable, not a discredited person …. The issue is … that of managing information about his failing. To display or not to display; to tell or not to tell; to let on or not to let on; to lie or not to lie; and in each case, to whom, how, when, and where. … It is this second general issue, the management of undisclosed discrediting information about self, that I am focusing on in these notes - in brief, 'passing'. 1963, Erving Goffman, 'Notes on the Management of Spoiled Identity', Ch.2 at p.57, 58 (page numbers per the Pelican Books 1976 reprint)