• IPA: /ˈteɪkɪŋ/

taking

1. Alluring; attractive.
   • 1655, Thomas Fuller, The Church-history of Britain; […], London: […] Iohn Williams […], →OCLC ↗, book, page 128 ↗:

     […] a Proteus-Devil appeared unto him, changing into Shapes, but fixing himself at last into the form of a Fair Woman. Strange, that Satan (so subtil in making his Temptations most taking) should preferre this form […]

   • 1878, Thomas Hardy, The Return of the Native‎, Book 3, Chapter 1:

     “Yes, Paris must be a taking place,” said Humphrey. “Grand shop-winders, trumpets, and drums; and here be we out of doors in all winds and weathers—”

   • 1909, Frank Sidgwick, Love and battles, page 291:

     The gentleman had left for London after lunch. Yes, alone; but he had lunched in the hotel with a lady. A young lady. A very taking young lady. She called him uncle. But walked away in another direction as his cab started. The porter's eye was beginning to twinkle; […]

2. (obsolete) Infectious; contagious.
   • c. 1603–1606, William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of King Lear”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC ↗, [Act II, scene iv]:

     All the stor’d vengeances of heaven fall
     On her ingrateful top! Strike her young bones,
     You taking airs, with lameness!

   • 1647, John Fletcher, Philip Massinger, The False One‎, act IV, scene 3:

     Come not near me,
     For I am yet too taking for your company.

taking

1. The act by which something is taken.
2. (uncountable) A seizure of someone's goods or possessions.
3. (uncountable) A state of mental distress, resulting in excited or erratic behavior (in the expression in a taking).
   • 1874, Thomas Hardy, chapter 30, in Far from the Madding Crowd‎:

     “And, dear miss, you won’t harry me and storm at me, will you? because you seem to swell so tall as a lion then, and it frightens me! Do you know, I fancy you would be a match for any man when you are in one o’ your takings.”

   • 1970, Mary Stewart, The Crystal Cave‎, New York: Fawcett Crest, Book 1, Chapter 2, p. 26:

     “[...] there’ll be a beating for someone, by my reckoning, if he’s not there by the time the King’s looking round for him. He’s been in a rare taking since the outriders came in, that I can tell you.”

4. (in the plural) Cash or money received (by a shop or other business, for example).

   Synonyms: income, receipts

   Fred was concerned because the takings from his sweetshop had fallen again for the third week.

   Count the shop's takings.

• German: Nahme, Einnahme, Übernahme

• German: Inbesitznahme, Ergreifung

• German: geistiger Ausnahmezustand, erratische Verfassung, Anfall

• German: Einnahmen

1. Present participle and gerund of take
   • 1892, Walter Besant, “Prologue: Who is Edmund Gray?”, in The Ivory Gate […], New York, N.Y.: Harper & Brothers, […], →OCLC ↗, page 16 ↗:

     Athelstan Arundel walked home […], foaming and raging. […] He walked the whole way, walking through crowds, and under the noses of dray-horses, carriage-horses, and cart-horses, without taking the least notice of them.