# earing

Pronunciation: say "EER-ing" /ˈɪəɹɪŋ/

## Noun

1. A rope attached at an upper corner of a sail to hold it to a yard or gaff.
   - Simple: A rope that holds the top corners of a sail to the pole above.
   - _The bosun made the earing fast to the yardarm before the squall hit._
   - _Worn earings let the sail's corners flap loose in a strong wind._
2. On a sailing vessel, a line used to pull the reef cringle up to the yard when a sail is being reefed.
   - Simple: A rope used to pull a sail's reefing loop up to the pole above.
   - _Tightening the earing brought the reef cringle hard up to the yard._
   - _In the gale, a snapped earing left the reefed sail straining dangerously._
3. On a ship, a line that ties a corner of an awning to the rigging or to the stanchions.
   - Simple: A rope that ties the corners of a deck cover to the ship's rails or ropes.
   - _The steward made the earing fast to a stanchion to keep the awning level._
   - _A frayed earing let the awning's corner droop over the quarterdeck._
4. A defect in which the edges of drawn sheet metal form a wave pattern during deep drawing.
   - Simple: Wavy edges that form on sheet metal when it is stretched into a deep shape.
   - _Severe earing forced the team to trim the part's wavy edge before assembly._
   - _They traced the earing to the grain direction of the rolled sheet._

## Verb

5. Present participle and gerund of ear. — present participle and gerund of ear
   - Simple: The -ing form of ear. Use it after am, is, are, was or were, or to name the action.
   - _By late June the barley was earing across the whole valley._
   - _Farmers watched the rye earing unevenly after the dry spring._

## Noun

6. An ornament worn on or hanging from the ear; an earring. *(archaic)*
   - Simple: A ring or other piece of jewelry worn on the ear.
   - _A single pearl earing trembled at her ear as she turned._
   - _The portrait shows a gentleman with a jeweled earing in one lobe._
7. A plowing of the land. *(archaic)*
   - Simple: The act of plowing a piece of land once.
   - _After a deep earing, the farmer left the field to weather over winter._
   - _The heavy ground demanded a second earing before the barley was sown._

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/earing (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).