Present participle of hank: the act of coiling or fastening with a hank; or present participle of hanker: the act of having a persistent desire.
From hank or hanker + -ing (present participle/gerund suffix); can represent two different verb stems depending on context.
The word 'hanking' is homonymous—'hanking ropes' (nautical) and 'hanking for sweets' (desire) use the same spelling despite different origins, a quirk that shows language's messy evolution.
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