Vibing

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. To experience a joyful connection with the present moment while feeling in harmony with music or the environment and expressing a carefree attitude
2. Taking pleasure in a calm or pleasant setting while feeling attuned to the surroundings
3. Engaging comfortably with the current environment and sensing a positive, laid-back energy

Etymology: "Vibing" is the present participle of "vibe," so its history is really the history of the noun. "Vibe" is a clipped form, cut down from "vibration," and it has been clipped from related words such as "vibrator" as well. The shortening is the surprising part: a word meaning a physical quiver or oscillation was trimmed to a stub and then pressed into service for the feeling a room or person gives off. Over time the sense drifted from the literal to the atmospheric. A vibration is a repeated back-and-forth motion, and the idea that a place or person emits a detectable mood borrows that physical image of something you can sense without seeing. "Vibing" then took the same shape as other verbs formed from nouns, describing the act of taking in and responding to that mood.

Synonyms: grooving, chilling, resonating