Emily Dickinson Lexicon

dying, verbal n. [see die, v.]

1. Extinction; passing away; [word play on “dyeing”] tinting; coloring with dye; [fig.] fading into the sunset; glowing with many colors as sunlight diminishes at dusk.
2. Perish; pass away; departing; expiring.
3. Death; departure from mortality; the process of losing life; the spirit leaving the body (see Numbers 17:13).
4. Emotional extinction; loss of all feelings.
5. Terminally ill person; someone at the end of life.