Abidynge

Part of speech: adjective

Definitions

1. Staying or living in a particular place for a period ; continuing to exist or last for a long time
2. The act of remaining or residing somewhere ; the quality of going on and lasting for an extended span
3. Dwelling in one spot over an extended period ; enduring steadily without fading or ending for many years

Etymology: "Abidynge" is a Middle English spelling of a word that survives in modern English as "abiding," used in phrases like "an abiding love" to mean lasting or constant. It is formed from the verb "abide," which comes from Old English "abīdan," built from the prefix "a-" (an intensifying element, akin to "on" or "up") and "bīdan," meaning "to wait" or "to remain." The sense of waiting in one place gradually became the sense of staying put, and from there of continuing for a long time. The participle ending "-ing" turned the verb into an adjective, so a thing that is "abiding" is one that keeps on remaining. The spelling "abidynge," with its "y" and final "-e," reflects the variable orthography of Middle English scribes, who wrote the same sounds in many different ways before standard spelling settled in the early modern period.