madding

madding
madding action of the obsolete verb mad "to make insane; to become insane" (see MADDEN (Cf. madden)); now principally in the phrase far from the madding crowd, title of a novel by Hardy (1874), who lifted it from a line of Gray's "Elegy" (1749), which seems to echo a line from Drummond of Hawthornden from 1614 ("Farre from the madding Worldling's hoarse discords").

Etymology dictionary. 2014.

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  • Madding — Mad ding, a. Affected with madness; raging; furious. {Mad ding*ly}, adv. [Archaic] [1913 Webster] Far from the madding crowd s ignoble strife. Gray. [1913 Webster] The madding wheels Of brazen chariots raged. Milton. [1913 Webster] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • madding — [mad′iŋ] adj. Rare 1. raving; frenzied [“the madding crowd”] 2. maddening; making mad …   English World dictionary

  • madding — adjective Date: 1579 acting in a frenzied manner usually used in the phrase madding crowd to denote especially the crowded world of human activity and strife < built his home far from the madding crowd > …   New Collegiate Dictionary

  • madding — /mad ing/, adj. 1. acting madly or senselessly; insane; frenzied: a quiet place far from the madding crowd. 2. making mad: a madding grief. [1300 50; ME. See MAD (v.), ING2] * * * …   Universalium

  • madding — /ˈmædɪŋ/ (say mading) adjective Obsolete 1. mad; acting as if mad. 2. making mad. –phrase 3. far from the madding crowd, remote from the noise and bustle of the city. {Phrase Origin: from Thomas Gray s poem Elegy in a Country Churchyard (1751):… …  

  • Madding — Mad Mad, v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Madded}; p. pr. & vb. n. {Madding}.] To make mad or furious; to madden. [1913 Webster] Had I but seen thy picture in this plight, It would have madded me. Shak. [1913 Webster] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • madding — adjective Affected with madness; raging; furious. Far from the madding crowds ignoble strife. Gray …   Wiktionary

  • madding — mad•ding [[t]ˈmæd ɪŋ[/t]] adj. tumultuous: the madding crowd[/ex] • Etymology: 1300–50 …   From formal English to slang

  • madding — mad|ding sb., en, er, erne, i sms. madding , fx maddingspand …   Dansk ordbog

  • madding — (Roget s Thesaurus II) adjective Archaic. Marked by extreme excitement, confusion, or agitation: delirious, frantic, frenetic, frenzied, mad, wild. See CALM …   English dictionary for students

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