Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary · 1913

Taking

Taking , adjective

1.
Apt to take; alluring; attracting.
Subtile in making his temptations most taking. — Fuller
2.
Infectious; contagious. [Obsolete] — Beau. & Fl

Taking , noun

1.
The act of gaining possession; a seizing; seizure; apprehension.
2.
Agitation; excitement; distress of mind. [Colloquial]
What a taking was he in, when your husband asked who was in the basket! — Shakespeare
3.
Malign influence; infection. [Obsolete] — Shakespeare