What is "hanging"

Hanging \Hang"ing\, n.

1. The act of suspending anything; the state of being suspended.

2. Death by suspension; execution by a halter.

3. That which is hung as lining or drapery for the walls of a room, as tapestry, paper, etc., or to cover or drape a door or window; -- used chiefly in the plural.

   Now purple hangings clothe the palace walls.
   --Dryden.

Hanging \Hang"ing\, a.

1. Requiring, deserving, or foreboding death by the halter. ``What a hanging face!''
   --Dryden.

2. Suspended from above; pendent; as, hanging shelves.

3. Adapted for sustaining a hanging object; as, the hanging post of a gate, the post which holds the hinges. Hanging compass, a compass suspended so that the card may be read from beneath. Hanging garden, a garden sustained at an artificial elevation by any means, as by the terraces at Babylon. Hanging indentation. See under Indentation. Hanging rail (Arch.), that rail of a door or casement to which hinges are attached. Hanging side (Mining), the overhanging side of an inclined or hading vein. Hanging sleeves.

   1. Strips of the same stuff as the gown, hanging down the back from the shoulders.

   2. Loose, flowing sleeves. Hanging stile. (Arch.)

      1. That stile of a door to which hinges are secured.

      2. That upright of a window frame to which casements are hinged, or in which the pulleys for sash windows are fastened.

         Hanging wall (Mining), the upper wall of inclined vein, or that which hangs over the miner's head when working in the vein.

Hang \Hang\ (h[a^]ng), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Hanged (h[a^]ngd) or Hung (h[u^]ng); p. pr. & vb. n. Hanging. Usage: The use of hanged is preferable to that of hung, when reference is had to death or execution by suspension, and it is also more common.] [OE. hangen, hongien, v. t. & i., AS. hangian, v. i., fr. h[=o]n, v. t. (imp. heng, p. p. hongen); akin to OS. hang[=o]n, v. i., D. hangen, v. t. & i., G. hangen, v. i, h["a]ngen, v. t., Icel. hanga, v. i., Goth. h[=a]han, v. t. (imp. ha['i]hah), h[=a]han, v. i. (imp. hahaida), and perh. to L. cunctari to delay. [root]37. ]

1. To suspend; to fasten to some elevated point without support from below; -- often used with up or out; as, to hang a coat on a hook; to hang up a sign; to hang out a banner.

2. To fasten in a manner which will allow of free motion upon the point or points of suspension; -- said of a pendulum, a swing, a door, gate, etc.

3. To fit properly, as at a proper angle (a part of an implement that is swung in using), as a scythe to its snath, or an ax to its helve. [U. S.]

4. To put to death by suspending by the neck; -- a form of capital punishment; as, to hang a murderer.

5. To cover, decorate, or furnish by hanging pictures, trophies, drapery, and the like, or by covering with paper hangings; -- said of a wall, a room, etc.

   Hung be the heavens with black.
   --Shak.

   And hung thy holy roofs with savage spoils.
   --Dryden.

6. To paste, as paper hangings, on the walls of a room.

7. To hold or bear in a suspended or inclined manner or position instead of erect; to droop; as, he hung his head in shame.

   Cowslips wan that hang the pensive head.
   --Milton.

8. To prevent from reaching a decision, esp. by refusing to join in a verdict that must be unanimous; as, one obstinate juror can hang a jury.

   To hang down, to let fall below the proper position; to bend down; to decline; as, to hang down the head, or, elliptically, to hang the head.

   To hang fire (Mil.), to be slow in communicating fire through the vent to the charge; as, the gun hangs fire; hence, to hesitate, to hold back as if in suspense.

"act of putting to death on the gallows," c.1300 (see hang (v.)). Hanging judge first recorded 1848. Meaning "piece of drapery on the wall of a room" is late 15c. Hangings "curtains, tapestry" is from 1640s.

1. 1 suspended. 2 (context chess of a piece English) Unprotected and exposed to capture. n. (context uncountable English) The act of hanging a person (or oneself) by the neck in order to execute that person (or to commit suicide). v

2. (present participle of hang English)

1. n. decoration that is hung (as a tapestry) on a wall or over a window; "the cold castle walls were covered with hangings" [syn: wall hanging]

2. a form of capital punishment; victim is suspended by the neck from a gallows or gibbet until dead; "in those days the hanging of criminals was a public entertainment"

3. the act of suspending something (hanging it from above so it moves freely); "there was a small ceremony for the hanging of the portrait" [syn: suspension, dangling]

Meat hanging is a culinary process, commonly used in beef aging, that improves the flavor of meats by allowing the natural enzymes in the meat to break down the tissue through dry aging. The process also allows the water in the meat to evaporate, thus concentrating the flavor.

Hanging is the suspension of a person by a noose or ligature around the neck. The Oxford English Dictionary states that hanging in this sense is "specifically to put to death by suspension by the neck", though it formerly also referred to crucifixion and death by impalement in which the body would remain "hanging". Hanging has been a common method of capital punishment since medieval times, and is the official execution method in numerous countries and regions. In this specialised meaning of the common word hang, the past and past participle is hanged instead of hung.

Hanging is also a common method of suicide in which a person applies a ligature to the neck and brings about unconsciousness and then death by suspension. Partial suspension or partial weight-bearing on the ligature is sometimes used, particularly in prisons, mental hospitals or other institutions, where full suspension support is difficult to devise, because high ligature points (e.g., hooks or pipes) have been removed.