gerund

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition

1. n. In Latin, a noun derived from a verb and having all case forms except the nominative.
2. n. In other languages, a verbal noun analogous to the Latin gerund, such as the English form ending in -ing when used as a noun, as in singing in We admired the choir's singing.

Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia

1. n. The name given originally by grammarians to a Latin verbal noun, used in oblique cases with an infinitival value: as, amandi, amando, amandum, ‘loving’; hence applied also in other languages to somewhat kindred formations: e. g., in Sanskrit to forms in tvā, ya, etc., having the value of indeclinable adjectives: as, gatvā, -gatya, ‘going’; in Anglo-Saxon to a dative infinitive after tō: as, gōd tō etanne, ‘good to eat’ (that is, ‘good for eating’). Abbreviated ger.

Wiktionary

1. n. A verbal form that functions as a verbal noun. (In English, a gerund has the same spelling as a present participle, but functions differently.)
2. n. In some languages such as Italian or Russian, a verbal form similar to a present participle, but functioning as an adverb. These words are sometimes referred to as conjunctive participles.

GNU Webster's 1913

1. n. A kind of verbal noun, having only the four oblique cases of the singular number, and governing cases like a participle.
2. n. A verbal noun ending in -e, preceded by to and usually denoting purpose or end; -- called also the dative infinitive; as, “Ic hæbbe mete tô etanne” (I have meat to eat.) In Modern English the name has been applied to verbal or participal nouns in -ing denoting a transitive action; e. g., by throwing a stone.

WordNet 3.0

1. n. a noun formed from a verb (such as the `-ing' form of an English verb when used as a noun)