Gerund or Adjective? [closed]

A man used his walking stick. Is walking in this case a gerund or an adjective?

A man used his walking-stick

I'd say that "walking-stick" is a single word, a compound consisting of verb + noun, where the verbal element has the ing suffix (i.e. it has the gerund-participle form).

It has a purposive meaning ("stick for walking"), as do these similar examples: "frying-pan" ("pan for frying in"), "chewing-gum" ("gum for chewing"), "drinking-water" ("water for drinking").

Both gerunds and present participles can be used as adjectives. This is a gerund used as an adjective, not a present participle, because the stick itself is not doing the walking. The same goes for "swimming pool" or "reading glasses".

"He looked outside at the falling snow" is an example of a present participle used as an adjective. In this case, the snow is doing the falling.

See Medium for an explanation of the difference between a gerund used as an adjective and a present participle used as an adjective.