Why this word is great
ETTLING — [Noun] The act or process of intending; purpose, endeavor, or archaic earnings. From Middle English etlyng, atlyng, equivalent to ettle ("to intend or earn") + -ing (denoting action or result). Unlike "intention" (which floats as an abstract plan) or "wages" (which sit inert as payment), "ettling" is the restless middle ground—the farmer's hands shaping soil toward harvest, the scholar's late-night candle burning toward an unwritten thesis, the weight of a purse earned and not yet spent. It is effort made visible, whether in thought or in copper, and proof that even the smallest motions leave traces.