Definition of "pricking"

pricking

/ˈpɹɪkɪŋ/

verb
1. present participle and gerund of prick
noun
countable and uncountable, plural prickings
1. The act of piercing or puncturing with a sharp point.
2. (figuratie) A sensation that pricks,or causes sharp emotional pain.
3. The driving of a nail into a horse's foot so as to produce lameness.
  Quotations
  THE pricking a horse has proved to be as useless an operation as it is simple, seldom or never having the desired effect; consequently the practice should be abolished
  1841, Richard Mason, The Gentleman's New Pocket Farrier
4. (mining) A nicking.
  Quotations
  No better material can be used than seggar or underclay prickings
  1906, George Mitcheson Bailes, Modern Mining Practice
5. The mark or trace left by a hare's foot; a prick.
6. The act of tracing a hare by its footmarks.
7. (obsolete) Dressing oneself for show; prinking.