pricking

from The Century Dictionary.

• noun Nautical, an English term referring to the propulsion of a punt in shallow water by means of a long pole thrust against the bottom. In America it is called punting, or poling.
• noun The act of piercing with a sharp point; a stinging or tingling sensation.
• noun Specifically, in farriery: The act of driving a nail into a horse's foot with the result of causing lameness.
• noun The making of an incision at the root of a horse's tail to cause him to carry it higher. See nick, transitive verb
• noun Musical notation.
• noun The prick or mark left by the foot of an animal, as a hare or deer; also, the act of tracking an animal by such marks.
• noun The condition of becoming sour, as wine.
• noun plural The slips of evergreens with which the churches are decorated from Christmas eve to the eve of Candlemas day. Halliwell.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

• noun The act of piercing or puncturing with a sharp point.
• noun The driving of a nail into a horse's foot so as to produce lameness.
• noun Same as Nicking.
• noun A sensation of being pricked.
• noun obsolete The mark or trace left by a hare's foot; a prick; also, the act of tracing a hare by its footmarks.
• noun obsolete Dressing one's self for show; prinking.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

• verb Present participle of prick.
• noun The act of piercing or puncturing with a sharp point.
• noun The driving of a nail into a horse's foot so as to produce lameness.
• noun mining A nicking.
• noun The mark or trace left by a hare's foot; a prick.
• noun The act of tracing a hare by its footmarks.
• noun obsolete Dressing oneself for show; prinking.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

• noun the act of puncturing with a small point