DUCKING, participle present tense Plunging; thrusting suddenly into water and withdrawing; dipping. DUCKING, noun The act of plunging or putting in water and withdrawing. ducking is a punishment of offenders in France, and among English seamen, it is a penalty to which sailors are subject on passing, for the first time, the equator or tropic.
Source: Webster's 1828 American Dictionary ↗ · public-domain · returned verbatim, no AI