[f. CROWN v. + -ING2.]
1. That crowns, or bestows a crown.
1611. Bible, Isa. xxiii. 8. Who hath taken this counsell against Tyre the crowning citie [1885 R. V. margin, that giveth crowns].
2. That forms the crown or acme; completing, consummating; highest, most perfect.
1651. Cromwell, Lett., 4 Sept. The dimensions of this mercy are above my thought. It is for aught I know a crowning mercy.
1746–7. Hervey, Medit. (1758), I. 58. ’Tis Heaven’s last, best, and crowning Gift.
1862. Stanley, Jew. Ch. (1877), I. xiv. 270. The crowning event of this period.
1867. A. Barry, Sir C. Barry, ii. 49. The crowning cornice.
1875. Jowett, Plato (ed. 2), I. 386. This last act, or crowning folly.
3. Rising into a crown or rounded summit; arching.
1761. Lond. Mag., XXX. 7. No pavement should be laid crowning.
1886. E. S. Morse, Japanese Homes, i. 28. They are brought to a uniform level, but crowning slightly,—that is, the centre is a little higher than the sides.
