| gerund |
| Definition: A verb ending with ing that functions as a noun. |
| Example: Do you mind my thinking of you? |
| Etymology: The word derives from the Old Latin gerundum, to be carried out (from Latin gerere, to bear or carry). |
| Oxford English Dictionary: Its first citation is from 1513: "There be moreouer belongyng to the infinitiue mode of verbes certayn voyces called gerundes … whiche haue bothe the actyue and passiue significacion." (Lilly, Introduction to Grammar (1549), Bijb) |