Stinging means producing a sharp burning feeling. Stinging eyes, a stinging remark, stinging nettles.
The physical sense covers what nettles, salt water and cold wind do to skin and eyes — sharp rather than dull, and short rather than lasting. The figurative sense is about words: a stinging rebuke, a stinging criticism, which hurt in the same brief sharp way. Note stinging nettle, which stings with tiny hollow hairs that break off and inject acid.
1adjectivestingingProducing a sharp burning feeling.
“The shampoo got in my eyes and left a stinging pain.”
2adjectivehurtfulSharply hurtful, of words.
“The newspaper published a stinging attack on the minister's record.”
stinging is a quality of sharp pain.
Sting plus -ing, from Old English stingan, to pierce. Stitch and stick come from the same piercing.
Middle English
styngyng
English, today
stinging
From Middle English styngyng; equivalent to sting + -ing.
Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA