going
noun
Going — the simple, ongoing act of departing from a place
Definition
The act of departing
In depth
Going names the act of departing, the plainest and most direct of the available words for leaving. It carries little of the emotional weight that 'departure' often implies, functioning instead as a neutral, almost grammatical marker of movement away from a particular point.
Origin
The word descends from Old English gan, to go, one of the oldest and most fundamental verbs in the language, irregular in its past tense ('went,' borrowed from an entirely different verb, 'wend') precisely because of how constantly and anciently it has been used. Its survival as a noun for the act of leaving reflects English's long-standing comfort with turning its plainest, most essential verbs into abstract nouns.
Usage examples
"Her going was sudden, with barely a word to anyone left behind."
"There was something final in his going, though he had promised, unconvincingly, to return."
"The going of summer always seemed to happen all at once, though everyone claimed to have seen it coming."
How to use it
Used as a noun, 'going' for the act of departing is somewhat literary or old-fashioned, more common in poetic or formal prose than everyday speech, where 'leaving' or 'departure' usually feel more natural.
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