darling

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   A person you love very much, often used as a loving way to address someone.

   Would you pass me the salt, darling?

2. 2
   adj

   Dearly loved or much cherished.

   She is my darling wife of twenty years.

3. 3
   adj

   Very charming, cute, or lovable.

   What a darling little cottage!

The noun is derived from Middle English dereling, derelyng (“beloved person; beloved of God, devout Christian”), from Old English dīerling, dēorling (“favourite, darling; minion”), from Proto-West Germanic *diuriling, from Proto-Germanic *diurijalingaz, from *diurijaz (“beloved, dear; expensive”) (further etymology uncertain, possibly from Proto-Indo-European *dʰegʷʰ- (“hot, warm; to burn”), or *dweh₂- (“distant, long; to remove, separate”)) + *-ilingaz (suffix forming (diminutive) nouns with the sense of ‘belonging to; coming from’). By surface analysis, dear + -ling (suffix meaning ‘immature…

Topics