Tailing

Part of speech: verb, noun

Definitions

1. The action of closely following another being or object A strategy in which one entity remains behind another to reduce drag effects The characteristic of an entity decreasing in size or width towards a defined conclusion
2. The act of moving closely behind someone or something ; a method used to minimize resistance by staying near another object in motion ; a form that becomes progressively thinner or smaller towards its end
3. Remaining close behind another person or vehicle ; using proximity to lessen air resistance while moving ; gradually decreasing in thickness or width as it reaches a conclusion

Etymology: The verb "tail" goes back to a hair-related root, not to the animal's rear end. Old English "tæġel" and "tæġl" meant "tail", and these came from a Proto-Germanic word "taglą" that originally meant "hair" or "fibre", specifically the hair of a tail. Its distant ancestor is an Indo-European root meaning "to tear, fray, shred", so the body part was named for the bristly, frayed quality of its covering. Cousins survive across the family: German "Zagel", Icelandic "tagl", and Swedish "tagel", which still means horsehair. The verb's sense of following closely behind someone grew from the noun's natural opposition to the head, the leader at the front. To tail someone is to keep to their rear, as a tail trails behind an animal. The sense of a thing narrowing toward its end, as when a voice or a sound fades out, follows the same picture of something thinning out toward a tapering point.

Synonyms: following, pursuing, chasing, trailing, stalking

Antonyms: leading, preceding, guiding, directing, forging