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shipping

shipping

3 6.5
Fans who imagine or support a romantic relationship between made-up characters
  • noun
  • /ˈʃɪpɪŋ/
  • Slang
translation icon : shipping
  • In online forums, fans express their excitement about the latest shipping of their favorite characters.
  • novel The Shipping

Examples

  • First of all, I am heavily shipping Farrah with Tamlin.

  • So I'm just wondering what shipping thoughts on that?

  • I know I've heard of the fans like shipping you to like, what's up with this?

  • Mori Summer approves of Dark Flame Master X Tyrant Eye shipping.

    Blog text (32)
  • A fact that will amuse many Axis Powers Hetalia fans—and conjure up a lot of thoughts of shipping.

    Blog text (31)
  • The shipping between the two lead characters has sparked endless debates among fans.

  • Many fans enjoy creating art and stories based on their favorite shipping pairings from popular shows.

Compounds

A business that sends goods by boat between countries

shipping office
  • Specialized
1 3.3

A place where agents hire sailors for work on ships

A person who checks and prepares goods to send or receive at a warehouse

shipping agent
  • Specialized
1 3.6

A person or company that arranges cargo, customs, and port services for a ship

shipping fever
  • Specialized
7.7

A serious illness in cattle or sheep after long travel that causes high fever and lung infection

shipping pneumonia
  • Specialized
7.6

A severe lung infection in cattle and sheep after long transport

A room where workers pack and prepare boxes to send

9.1

A formal contract between the ship's captain and crew that states duties, pay, and working conditions during a voyage

How Enthusiastic

obsession
262 5.1
devotion
62 3.2
shipping
  • Slang
3 6.5
to interest
206 1.0
curiosity
318 2.2

Surface Forms

shipping singular
shippings plural

Morphology

shipping = ship (opaque) = ship + ing

Although formed as 'ship' + '-ing', the fandom sense derives from a clipping/back-formation related to 'relationship' and is unrelated to transport, so the meaning is not inferable from the common verb 'ship' (transport).

Etymology

Shipping in fandom comes from the short form ship, which comes from relationship 'a romantic pair'. To ship characters is to support or imagine them as a couple, so shipping is the activity of fans who like that pairing.