English Explanatory Dictionary

darling

English dictionary entry

Meanings

noun
  1. Often used as an affectionate term of address: a person who is very dear to one.
  2. A person who is kind, sweet, etc., and thus lovable; a pet, a sweetheart; also, an animal or thing which is cute and lovable.
  3. A favourite.
  4. The favourite child in a family.
  5. A person (often a woman) or thing that is very popular with a certain group of people.
  6. A royal favourite, the intimate companion of a monarch or other royal personage, often delegated significant political power.
adj
  1. Very dear; beloved, cherished, favourite.
  2. Very cute or lovable; adorable, charming, sweet.
verb
  1. To call (someone) "darling" (noun sense 1).
name
  1. An English and Scottish surname transferred from the nickname, originally a nickname from darling.
  2. A major river of Queensland and New South Wales, Australia, named for Governor Ralph Darling.
  3. The Australian aboriginal language Baagandji, spoken along this river in New South Wales.
  4. A small town in the Western Cape province, South Africa.
  5. A census-designated place in Quitman County, Mississippi, United States.

Pronunciation

/ˈdɑːlɪŋ/ där'lĭng /ˈdɑɹlɪŋ/ En-us-darling.ogg

Word forms

darling darlings darlin' darlint dearling more darling darlinger most darling darlingest darlinging darlinged

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.

Synonyms

darl babber babe precious bae baby babycakes bubba bully buttercup cabbage chickabiddy chickadee chuck cupcake cutie dag darling dear dear heart dearest dearie dearling doll doodlebug dove duck ducky dumpling fam heart heartface heartling heartmate hinny hon honey honey bun honeybunch honeybug honeybunny honeycakes honeypie jewel jo kidder lambchop lambkin lass (archaic except UK dialectal (chiefly Geordie Wearside) informal or poetic) liefling little one love lovebug loveling lovie luvvy m'dear

Related words

Wiktionary’s coverage of Baagandji terms

Derived words

darl darlinghood darlinglike dilling kill one's darlings media darling murder one's darlings darlingly darlingness Anderson-Darling test Darling lily Darling pea Darling Range Darling Scarp
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