Drivings

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. The act of operating a motor vehicle while controlling its direction and speed
2. Engaging in the activity of transporting oneself or others from one place to another by means of a vehicle
3. The skill or practice involved in maneuvering a vehicle safely and efficiently on roadways

Etymology: "Drivings" is the plural of "driving," which in this sense means the skill of operating a vehicle on the road. The plural form is rare in everyday speech, and it turns the general activity into a set of separate instances or occasions, as in "his drivings were bold but sloppy." Its origins run far deeper than cars: the root goes back to a Proto-Germanic verb meaning "to drive," which English received through Old English "drīfende" and Middle English "dryvyng," where the word simply referred to the act of driving animals or objects forward. The verb "drive" has been in English since Old English and is related to German "treiben" and Dutch "drijven," which share the same core sense of pushing something along. Adding the suffix "-ing" turned the verb into a noun for the activity itself, a pattern English uses for countless everyday words.

Synonyms: motions, movements, forces, pushes, propulsions