nestling C2+ Topic:Animals US /ˈnɛstlɪŋ/ UK /ˈnɛstlɪŋ/ See IPA manual Meanings 1 noun a young bird too young to leave the nest The nestlings opened their beaks wide as the parent returned. Thesaurus Synonyms 1 noun · a young bird too young to... chickfledglinghatchlingfryer Word family Forms nestlings Related forms nestnestlefledgling Etymology AI details From Middle English nestling, from nest + the diminutive suffix -ling, the noun from Old English nest ('bird's nest'). nest Old English -ling Old English View etymology graph -> Topics Animals Word Formation & Derivatives External links Google Images Cambridge Dictionary Wiktionary # nestling **Type:** Word **Level:** C2+ **Part of speech:** noun **IPA (US):** /ˈnɛstlɪŋ/ **IPA (UK):** /ˈnɛstlɪŋ/ ## Meanings 1. a young bird too young to leave the nest ## Examples - The nestlings opened their beaks wide as the parent returned. ## Synonyms - chick - fledgling - hatchling - fryer ## Related Forms - nest - nestle - fledgling ## Roots and Affixes - Root: nest - Root: -ling ## Etymology From Middle English nestling, from nest + the diminutive suffix -ling, the noun from Old English nest ('bird's nest'). ## AI Etymology Nestling comes from Middle English nestling, from nest + the diminutive suffix -ling, the noun from Old English nest ('bird's nest'). The etymological trail includes Old English nest and Old English -ling. As a noun, nestling means a young bird too young to leave the nest. The same family is visible in related forms such as nest, nestle, and fledgling. Morphologically, the word is built from the elements named in its history, so the modern form preserves a visible compound, prefix, or suffix structure. ## Topics - Animals - Word Formation & Derivatives markdown