Kyllyng

Part of speech: noun, verb

Definitions

1. The act of taking a person's or animal's life by violent or deliberate means ; a large and sudden financial gain made in a short time ; describing something that is exhausting or extremely funny
2. Deliberately ending a life through violence or force ; a big quick profit, often made from a single successful deal ; tiring to the point of exhaustion or hilariously amusing
3. The deliberate termination of life by another's action ; an unexpectedly large windfall of money earned quickly ; wearing someone out completely or being wildly entertaining

Etymology: Before it meant ending a life, the Old English verb behind this word, "cwellan," meant to torment or torture. It was a causative of "cwelan," "to die," so its original sense was roughly "to make die," and the idea of inflicting suffering stayed attached to it for a long time. Over the Middle English period, the verb "killen" gradually took over the job of ordinary killing from the older "slēan," which is now mostly known through "slay." The noun and gerund "killing" came from that same verb. Its meaning has also widened in modern English. "Make a killing" means to earn a large, quick profit, and "killing" can describe something very amusing or impressive, with no violence implied.