Skip to the word

Added 9 October 2026

darling

/ˈdɑːlɪŋ/ noun

In Latin: animulus, deliciae, mel Wiktionary

noun Definition from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). Pronunciation from Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org. More about darling at Wordnik → Where our words come from →

Often used as an affectionate term of address: a person who is very dear to one.
Pass the wine, would you, darling?
A person who is kind, sweet, etc., and thus lovable; a pet, a sweetheart; also, an animal or thing which is cute and lovable.
The girl next door picks up all my shopping for me. She is such a darling.
A favourite. The favourite child in a family.
Mary, the youngest daughter, was always her mother’s darling.

adjective

Very dear; beloved, cherished, favourite.
She is my darling wife of twenty-two years.
Very cute or lovable; adorable, charming, sweet.
Well, isn’t that a darling little outfit she has on?

verb

To call (someone) "darling" (noun sense 1).

Origin

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.

From Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org (CC BY-SA)

Back to today's word