vbl. sb. [f. BRIDGE v.1 or sb. + -ING1.]
1. The action of the vb. BRIDGE.
1839. Thirlwall, Greece, II. 252. The bridging of the sacred Hellespont.
1882. Vines, Sachs’ Bot., 136. The bridging over of the medullary rays by cambium.
b. In Card-playing: see quot.
1879. Sporting Exam., 19 Aug., 262. By slightly bending a card—termed bridging—he could force, as it were, his opponent in the game to ‘cut’ the cards wherever he wished.
2. a. Bridges viewed in the mass as so much ‘work’; b. Carpentry. A bridging piece (see 3).
1884. H. W. Clarke, in Pall Mall Gaz., 5 May, 2/2. This sum included—ballast, heavy bridging, station buildings.
3. Comb. and Attrib.: bridging-floor, a floor in which bridging-joists are employed; bridging-joist, a small beam or joist of a flooring resting upon the binding-joists below, and supporting the boarding above; bridging-piece, a piece placed between two opposite beams to prevent their nearer approach (Weale).
1823. P. Nicholson, Pract. Build., 118. When the supporting timbers of a floor are formed by one row laid upon another, the upper row are called bridging joists.
1876. Gwilt, Archit., § 2019. A double floor consists … of … binding joists … bridging joists, and ceiling joists.
