vbl. sb. [f. as prec. + -ING1.] The action of cutting off; amputation. (Mostly gerundial or attrib.)
1639. Woodall, in Rees, Cycl. (1803), The amputating of any member in the mortified part.
1775. Gooch, in Phil. Trans., LXV. 374. It was the best stump he had ever seen, which he ascribed to the manner of amputating.
1856. Kane, Arct. Expl., II. xxv. 251. My amputating-knives.
1883. Winsloe, in Pall Mall G., 6 April, 4/2. Bullets were whizzing through the tent top while the patient, who by the way was my servant, lay on the amputating table.
