nocking

Verb

nock (third-person singular simple present nocks, present participle nocking, simple past and past participle nocked)

1. (transitive) To fit (an arrow) against the bowstring of a bow or crossbow.
   • Then taking up his own good stout bow and nocking an arrow with care, he shot with his very greatest skill.1883, Howard Pyle, The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood […], New York, N.Y.: […] Charles Scribner’s Sons […], →OCLC

   Synonyms:

   notch

2. (transitive) To cut a nock in (usually in an arrow's base or the tips of a bow).
   • It is a Scotch bow, I see, for the upper nock is without and the lower within. By the black rood! it is a good piece of yew, well nocked, well strung, well waxed, and very joyful to the feel.1891, A[rthur] Conan Doyle, The White Company, New York, N.Y.; Boston, Mass.: Thomas Y[oung] Crowell & Company […], →OCLC

See all 7 meanings of nock