'-ing' originates from Old English, specifically the element '-ing' / '-ingas', where '-ing' meant 'belonging to' or 'descendant (of)'.

'-ing' changed from Proto-Germanic '*-ingaz' into Old English '-ing'/'-ingas' (used for people, tribes, place-names) and later extended in Middle English to form gerunds and present participles in verbs, becoming the modern suffix '-ing'.

Initially, it meant 'belonging to' or 'descendant of' for nouns and names; over time it broadened to mark action/process (verbal nouns and participles) and ongoing states in verbs.