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ling
1[ ling ]
noun
- an elongated, marine, gadid food fish, Molva molva, of Greenland and northern Europe.
- the burbot.
- any of various other elongated food fishes.
-ling
2- a suffix of nouns, often pejorative, denoting one concerned with ( hireling; underling ), or diminutive ( princeling; duckling ).
ling
3[ ling ]
noun
- the heather, Calluna vulgaris.
-ling
4- an adverbial suffix expressing direction, position, state, etc.:
darkling; sideling.
ling.
5abbreviation for
- linguistics.
ling
1/ lɪŋ /
noun
- any of several gadoid food fishes of the northern coastal genus Molva, esp M. molva, having an elongated body with long fins
- another name for burbot
ling.
2abbreviation for
- linguistics
-ling
3suffix forming nouns
- derogatory.a person or thing belonging to or associated with the group, activity, or quality specified
underling
nestling
- used as a diminutive
duckling
ling
4/ lɪŋ /
noun
- another name for heather
-ling
5suffix forming adverbs
- in a specified condition, manner, or direction
darkling
sideling
Derived Forms
- ˈlingy, adjective
Word History and Origins
Origin of ling1
Origin of ling2
Origin of ling3
Word History and Origins
Origin of ling1
Origin of ling2
Origin of ling3
Origin of ling4
Example Sentences
"Oftentimes people think a natural spring has water that is safe to drink," said Bill Arnold, Distinguished McKnight University Professor & Joseph T. and Rose S. Ling Professor in the University of Minnesota's Department of Civil, Environmental, and Geo- Engineering.
Along with his late sister Lee Wei Ling, Mr Lee has long accused their brother Lee Hsien Loong of capitalising on their father's legacy to build a political dynasty.
Steven Ling was jailed for life in 1998 for murdering Joanne Tulip, 29, in Stamfordham, Northumberland, on Christmas Day in 1997.
Ling was initially ordered to serve at least 20 years behind bars, but in 2009 a High Court judge cut the minimum term to 18 years.
The board was asked by the Lord Chancellor to reconsider its September ruling Ling should be released after serving 27 years of his life sentence.
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Words That Use -ling
What does -ling mean?
The suffix –ling has two distinct senses.
The first of these senses is to form nouns meaning “one concerned with” and/or “little.” This form of –ling is occasionally used in a variety of everyday terms. It is sometimes used to be pejorative or insulting. The suffix –ling comes from Old English, in which it was used to create nouns meaning “one concerned with.”
The second of these senses is to form adverbs describing direction, position, or state of being. This form of –ling is very rarely used in a variety of obscure terms. The suffix –ling in this sense comes from Old English –ling, in which it was used to indicate direction.
Examples of -ling with the sense “one concerned with” or "little"
One example of a word that features –ling in the sense of “little” is princeling, “a young prince.”
The prince– part of the word means, naturally, “prince,” a non-reigning male member of a royal family. As we have seen, –ling means “little.” Princeling literally means “little prince.”
What are some words that use the equivalent of the suffix –ling in Middle or Old English?
What are some other forms that –ling may be commonly confused with?
Not every word that ends with the exact letters –ling, such as buckling or quisling, is necessarily using the suffix –ling to denote “one concerned with” or “little.” Learn why quisling means “traitor” at our entry for the word.
Break it down!
The offspring of a goose is known as a gosling. Given the meaning of –ling, what does gosling literally mean?
Examples of -ling with the sense “direction” or "state of being"
A word that uses the suffix –ling to indicate a state of being is darkling, an adverb meaning “in the dark.” Darkling comes from late Middle English derkeling, which features the equivalent of –ling in that language.
The dark– part of the word here literally means “having very little or no light.” The suffix –ling in this term indicates a state of being. Darkling literally means “the state of having very little or no light.”
What are some words that use the suffix –ling?
- flatling (using the equivalent form of –ling in Middle English)
- groundling
- groveling
- sideling (using the equivalent form of –ling in Middle English)
What are some other forms that -ling may be commonly confused with?
Break it down!
Given the meaning of –ling to indicate a sense of direction, what does sideling mean?
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