Merriam-Webster Collegiate Dictionary - gerund

 noun  Etymology: Late Latin ~ium, from Latin ~us, ~ive of gerere to bear, carry on  Date: 1513  1. a verbal noun in Latin that expresses generalized or uncompleted action  2. any of several linguistic forms analogous to the Latin ~ in languages other than Latin; especially the English verbal noun ending in -ing that has the function of a substantive and at the same time shows the verbal features of tense, voice, and capacity to take adverbial qualifiers and to govern objects GERUNDIVE  noun  Date: 15th century  1. the Latin future passive participle that functions as the verbal adjective, that expresses the fitness or necessity of the action to be performed, and that has the same suffix as the gerund  2. a verbal adjective in a language other than Latin analogous to the ~