/pat"euhr ning/ , n.
1. a design or decoration formed by the creative arrangement or formation of patterns.
2. the following of a specific pattern of movement, as in a dance or exercise: the floor patterning of a folk dance.
3. a system of physical therapy in which a pattern of specific movements is practiced or imposed regularly as a way of improving, restoring, or stimulating muscular coordination, esp. in brain-damaged or handicapped persons.
[ 1860-65; PATTERN + -ING 1 ]