[f. ADOPT + -ING1.] A choosing or taking as one’s own, or into any relationship, esp. as a child; adoption.
1591. Percyvall, Sp. Dict., Ahijamiento, adopting, adoptatio.
1861. Geo. Eliot, Silas M., 313. That was the only adopting I ever heard of: and the child was transported when it was twenty-three.
