getting
noun
Getting — the plain, everyday act of coming to have something
Definition
The act of acquiring something; "I envied his talent for acquiring"; "he's much more interested in the getting than in the giving"
In depth
Getting, like acquiring, names the act of gaining possession of something, but the word is far plainer and more colloquial, the natural choice in everyday speech rather than formal writing. It describes the same fundamental process — the movement from not having to having — stripped of any Latinate formality.
Origin
The word descends from Old Norse geta, to obtain or guess, brought into English through Norse settlement and trade contact. Its remarkable productivity in modern English — forming the basis of countless idioms, from 'getting along' to 'getting by' to 'getting over' — reflects how thoroughly this borrowed word embedded itself into the very grammar of everyday English expression.
Usage examples
"He's much more interested in getting than in giving, his sister had always said, not unkindly."
"Getting the loan approved took far longer than they had expected."
"There was real satisfaction in simply getting through the day, some weeks, without anything going wrong."
How to use it
Getting is the natural, unmarked default in casual and conversational prose, and writers should reach for 'acquiring' or 'obtaining' specifically when a more formal or deliberate register is wanted. The word's plainness is itself a stylistic choice.
Related concepts
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