nettling

English

Verb

nettling

1. present participle and gerund of nettle

Noun

nettling (countable and uncountable, plural nettlings)

1. (ropemaking) A process, resembling splicing, by which two ropes are joined so as to form one rope.
2. The process of tying together the ends of yarns in pairs, to prevent tangling.
3. The process of stinging somebody with nettles.
   • 2000, Harriet Whitehead, Food Rules: Hunting, Sharing, and Tabooing Game in Papua New Guinea:

     Their greater male strength will be both tested and attested to in their ability to undergo the initiation nettlings, beatings, and burnings administered to them by the older initiators […]