gerund
ger.und \'jer-*nd\ n [LL gerundium, fr. L gerundus, gerundive of gerere to
bear m more at CAST 1: a verbal noun in Latin that expresses the action of
the verb as generali zed or in continuance 2: any of several linguistic
forms analogous to the Latin gerund in languag es other than Latin; esp :
the English verbal noun in -ing that has the function of a substantive and
at the same time shows the verbal features of tense, voice, and capacity to
take adverbial qualifiers and to govern objects