deary

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   an affectionate, old-fashioned, or sometimes patronizing form of address, especially to a woman or child

   Do sit by the fire, deary, and tell me what happened.

Formed from dear + the familiar or diminutive suffix -y. It arose as a pet name and term of endearment, parallel to dearie. Depending on the speaker and context, deary can sound warmly affectionate, conspicuously old-fashioned, or patronizing.

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