darling

Pronunciation: /ˈdɑɹlɪŋ/

Reading level: hard

Estimated CEFR level: B1 — Intermediate

Estimated from word frequency; not an official CEFR classification.

Definition

  1. noun a special loved one
  2. noun an Australian river; tributary of the Murray River
  3. adjective dearly loved

Etymology

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; small’). The adjective is from an attributive use of the noun. The verb is also derived from the noun.

In classic literature

Synonyms

favorite, favourite, pet, dearie, deary, ducky

Semantic network

Broader (hypernyms)
lover
Narrower (hyponyms)
mollycoddle, macushla, chosen, teacher's pet

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