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ticking (n.)

"cloth covering (usually of strong cotton or linen) for mattresses or pillows," 1640s, from tyke (modern tick) with the same meaning (mid-14c.), probably from Middle Dutch tike, from a West Germanic borrowing of Latin theca "case," from Greek thēkē "a case, box, cover, sheath," from suffixed form of PIE root *dhe- "to set, put."

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Definitions of ticking from WordNet

ticking (n.)
a strong fabric used for mattress and pillow covers;
ticking (n.)
a metallic tapping sound;
Synonyms: tick
From wordnet.princeton.edu