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.
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Often used as an affectionate term of address: a person who is very dear to one.
Pass the wine, would you, darling?
[I]t is better to be / An old mans derling than a yong mans werling.1546, John Heywood, chapter VII, in Julian Sharman, editor, The Proverbs of John Heywood. […], London: George Bell and Sons, […], published 1874, →OCLC, part II, page 138:
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Feare ye not (ô darling) on thy ſide deſtinie runneth.1582, Virgil, “The Firste Booke of Virgil His Aeneis”, in Richard Stanyhurst, transl., The First Foure Bookes of Virgils Æneis, […], London: […] Henrie Bynneman […], published 1583, →OCLC; republished as The First Four Books of the Æneid of Virgil, […], Edinburgh: [Edinburgh Printing Company], 1836, →OCLC, page 11:
How ſhall I, void of tears, her death relate, / VVhile on her darling’s bed her mother ſate!1714, J[ohn] Gay, “Friday; or, The Dirge”, in The Shepherd’s Week. In Six Pastorals, London: […] R. Burleigh […], →OCLC, page 47, lines 109–110:
Sleep, sweet babe! my cares beguiling: / Mother sits beside thee smiling: / Sleep, my darling, tenderly!1793–1817 (date written), S[amuel] T[aylor] Coleridge, “The Virgin’s Cradle-hymn. Copied from a Print of the Virgin, in a Catholic Village in Germany.”, in Sibylline Leaves: A Collection of Poems, London: Rest Fenner, […], published 1817, →OCLC, page 260:
My first, last love; the idol of my youth, / The darling of my manhood, and, alas! / Now the most blessed memory of mine age.1842, Alfred Tennyson, “The Gardener’s Daughter; or, The Pictures”, in Poems. […], volume II, London: Edward Moxon, […], →OCLC, page 32:
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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.
When the Crocodile Queen came home, she found / That her eggs were broken and scattered around, / And that six young Princes, darlings all, / Were missing, for none of them answer'd her call.1838, Robert Southey, “The King of the Crocodiles. Part II.”, in The Poetical Works of Robert Southey. […], volume VI, London: […] [Andrew Spottiswoode] for Longman, Orme, Brown, Green, & Longmans, […], published 1838, →OCLC, stanza 6, page 102:
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What did they want, then, or in what manner did he fail in his duty towards those innocent darlings [his children]?1863, M[ary] E[lizabeth] Braddon, “The Story of the Past”, in Eleanor’s Victory. […], volume I, London: Tinsley Brothers, […], →OCLC, page 43:
With every flock of sheep and girls are one or two enormous mastiffs, which could eat one, and do bark nastily. But when the children call them and introduce them to you formally, they stand to be patted, and eat out of your hand; they are great darlings, and necessary against bear and wolf.1864 April (date written), Charles Kingsley, chapter XXIII, in F[rances] E[liza Grenfell] K[ingsley], editor, Charles Kingsley: His Letters and Memories of His Life. […], volume II, London: Henry S[amuel] King & Co., published 1877, →OCLC, page 200:
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A favourite.
And in ſo muche the more peril and haſard of the ſaid diſeaſes [“ambicion, auarice, riottous exceſſe, hatred, enuye, and ſuche others”] do the princes ſtand, as they are more then others made wantons ⁊ derelynges of fortune, and haue lybertie withoute checke or controllemente to fulfyll their owne ſenſuall luſtes and appetites.1549 February 10 (Gregorian calendar; indicated as 1548), Erasmus, “The Paraphrase of Erasmus vpon the Ghospell of S. Luke. The Preface of Erasmus vnto His Paraphrase vpon the Ghospell of Luke. Unto the Moostle Puissaunt and Most Victorious Prince Henry the Eight, King of England, Fraunce, and Ireland, […].”, in Nicolas Udall [i.e., Nicholas Udall], transl., The First Tome or Volume of the Paraphrase of Erasmus vpon the Newe Testamente, London: […] Edwarde Whitchurche, →OCLC, folio vii, verso:
[T]hat handkercher / Did an Egyptian to my mother giue, / […] ſhe told her vvhile ſhe kept it, / Tvvould make her amiable, and ſubdue my father / Intirely to her loue: […] [T]ake heed on't, / Make it [the handkerchief] a darling, like your pretious eye, / To looſe, or giue avvay, vvere ſuch perdition, / As nothing elſe could match.c. 1603–1604 (date written), William Shakespeare, The Tragœdy of Othello, the Moore of Venice. […] (First Quarto), London: […] N[icholas] O[kes] for Thomas Walkley, […], published 1622, →OCLC, [Act III, scene iv], pages 56–57:
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Politics were never more corrupt and brutal; and Trade, that pride and darling of our ocean, that educator of nations, that benefactor in spite of itself, ends in shameful defaulting, bubble, and bankruptcy, all over the world.1870, Ralph Waldo Emerson, “Works and Days”, in Society and Solitude. Twelve Chapters, Boston, Mass.: Fields, Osgood, & Co., →OCLC, page 148:
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The favourite child in a family.
Mary, the youngest daughter, was always her mother’s darling.
And tis a common obſervation in Familites, that the moſt diſcountenanc'd child oft makes better proof, then the dearling.1675, [Richard Allestree], “Sect[ion] IV. Of the Surplusage of our Enjoinments above Our Sufferings.”, in The Art of Contentment. […], Oxford, Oxfordshire: At the [Sheldonian] Theater […], →OCLC, paragraph 9, page 73:
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[…] John vvas the Darling, he had all the good Bits, vvas cramm'd vvith good Pullet, Chicken, Pig, Gooſe and Capon, vvhile Miſs had only a little Oatmeal and VVater, or a dry Cruſt vvithout Butter.1712, Humphry Polesworth [pseudonym; John Arbuthnot], “The Character of John Bull’s Sister Peg, with the Quarrels that Happen’d between Master and Miss, in Their Childhood”, in John Bull Still in His Senses: Being the Third Part of Law is a Bottomless-Pit. […], London: […] John Morphew, […], →OCLC, page 23:
Exhausted fathers thinned the blood, / You curse the legacy of pain; / Darling of an infected brood, / You feel disaster climb the vein.1932–1941, Theodore Roethke, “Feud”, in Open House, New York, N.Y.: Alfred A[braham] Knopf, published 1941, →OCLC, part I, page 4:
But Richmond, his grandfather's darling, after one thoughtful glance cast under his lashes at that uncompromising countenance, appeared to lose himself in his own reflections.1959, Georgette Heyer, chapter 1, in The Unknown Ajax, London; Melbourne, Vic.: William Heinemann, →OCLC, page 3:
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Broadly A person (often a woman) or thing that is very popular with a certain group of people.
a media darling
a darling of the theatre
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[…] Auguſtius Cæſar in his very entrance into affaires, vvhen he vvas a dearling of the Senate, yet in his haranges to the people, vvould ſvveare Ita parentis honores conſequi liceat, (vvhich vvas no leſſe then the Tyranny,) […]1605, Francis Bacon, “The Second Booke”, in The Twoo Bookes of Francis Bacon. Of the Proficience and Aduancement of Learning, Diuine and Humane, London: […] [Thomas Purfoot and Thomas Creede] for Henrie Tomes, […], →OCLC, folio 11, recto:
The Generall of the Romanes in this action vvas Titus, ſonne to Veſpaſian the Emperour. A prince ſo good, that he vvas ſtyled the Darling of mankind for his ſvveet and loving nature; […]1639, Thomas Fuller, “The Destruction of the Citie and Temple of Jerusalem by the Romanes under the Conduct of Titus”, in The Historie of the Holy Warre, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire: […] Thomas Buck, one of the printers to the Universitie of Cambridge [and sold by John Williams, London], →OCLC, book I, page 1:
Then the great knight, the darling of the court, / Loved of the loveliest, into that rude hall / Stept with all grace, […]1859, Alfred Tennyson, “Elaine”, in Idylls of the King, London: Edward Moxon & Co., […], →OCLC, page 161:
One of the darlings of the early vegetarian movement (particularly in its even sadder form, the cutlet), it was on the menu at John Harvey Kellogg's Battle Creek Sanitarium^([sic]), and has since become the default Sunday option for vegetarians – and a default source of derision for everyone else.2011 December 15, Felicity Cloake, “How to cook the perfect nut roast”, in Guardian:
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Obsolete A royal favourite, the intimate companion of a monarch or other royal personage, often delegated significant political power.
When kyng Henry perceiued, that the cõmons [commons] wer thus ſtomacked and bent, againſt the Quenes [Margaret of Anjou's] dearlynge William [de la Pole,] Duke of Suffolke, he plainly ſawe, that neither gloſyng woulde ſette, nor diſſimulacion coulde appeace, the continuall clamor of the importunate cõmons: Wherefore to begyn a ſhorte pacificacion in to long a broyle.a. 1548 (date written), Edward Hall, Richard Grafton, “[The Troubleous Season of Kyng Henry the Sixt.] The .XXVIII. Yere.”, in The Vnion of the Two Noble and Illustre Famelies of Lancastre & Yorke, […], London: […] Rychard Grafton, […] [and Steven Mierdman], published 1550, →OCLC, folio lxxvi, recto:
She [Caroline of Ansbach] immediately became the darling of the Princeſs Sophia [Charlotte of Hanover], vvho vvas acknovvledged in all the Courts of Europe the moſt accompliſhed vvoman of the age in vvhich ſhe lived, and vvho vvas not a little pleaſed vvith the converſation of one in vvhom ſhe ſavv ſo lively an image of her ovvn youth.1716 March 12 (Gregorian calendar), Joseph Addison, “The Free-holder: No. 21. Thursday, March 2. [1716.]”, in The Works of the Right Honourable Joseph Addison, Esq; […], volume IV, London: […] Jacob Tonson, […], published 1721, →OCLC, page 432:
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.
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Very dear; beloved, cherished, favourite.
She is my darling wife of twenty-two years.
Do thou dred infant, Venus dearling doue, / From her high ſpirit chaſe imperious feare, / And vſe of avvfull Maieſtie remoue: […]1596, Edmund Spenser, “Book IV”, in The Faerie Queene. […], part II (books IV–VI), London: […] [Richard Field] for William Ponsonby, →OCLC, stanza 5, page 2:
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Rough vvindes do ſhake the darling buds of Maie, / And Sommers leaſe hath all too ſhort a date: […]1609, William Shakespeare, “Sonnet 18”, in Shake-speares Sonnets. […], London: By G[eorge] Eld for T[homas] T[horpe] and are to be sold by William Aspley, →OCLC, signature B4, verso:
VVherefore, for the future, I am reſolved, to Acknovvledge my darling faults, though alone, yet aloud; […]1645, Thomas Fuller, “Mixt Contemplations”, in Good Thoughts in Bad Times, […], Exeter, Devon: […] Thomas Hunt, →OCLC, section XVII, page 230:
[H]is darling Sons / Hurl'd headlong to partake vvith us, ſhall curſe / Their frail Originals, and faded bliſs, / Faded ſo ſoon.1667, John Milton, “Book II”, in Paradise Lost. […], London: […] [Samuel Simmons], and are to be sold by Peter Parker […]; [a]nd by Robert Boulter […]; [a]nd Matthias Walker, […], →OCLC, signature [E4], recto, lines 373–376:
Now Ellen was a darling love / In all his joys and cares: / And Ellen's name and Mary's name / Fast-link'd they both together came, / Whene'er he said his prayers.1793–1817 (date written), S[amuel] T[aylor] Coleridge, “The Three Graves. A Fragment of a Sexton’s Tale.”, in Sibylline Leaves: A Collection of Poems, London: Rest Fenner, […], published 1817, →OCLC, page 226:
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Very cute or lovable; adorable, charming, sweet.
Well, isn’t that a darling little outfit she has on?
Isn't it the darlingest, sweetest, prettiest, little dear darling darling! Oh! did you ever!!1854 March 4, Punch, or The London Charivari, volume XXVI, number 660, London: Bradbury and Evans, […], →OCLC, page 116:
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.
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Informal To call (someone) "darling" (noun sense 1).
The frisky female, we have noticed, has one most unpleasant trick; it is that of darlinging and duckeying and otherwise spooneying her husband … in public. He is invariably, invariably set down as an ass, without its being in the least his fault.1870, Hugh Rowley, chapter XVIII, in Gamosagammon; or, Hints on Hymen. […], London: John Camden Hotten, […], →OCLC, page 139:
Hullo! oh! Maud, darling, I wanted to know— / Great snakes, it's not she!—I want Miss Maud DeVaux.— / I think that I "darlinged" the old man that time. / If I did, I'll sell cheap,—this lot marked down,—one dime.1882 September 22, “By Telephone”, in H. S. Underwood, editor, The Argo, volume II, number 6, Williamstown, Mass.: Williams College, →OCLC, page 75, column 2:
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Wonderful the way you stage people darling each other. To hear you sometimes, you'd think you were passionately in love.1941 (date written), Terence Rattigan, Flare Path: A Play in Three Acts, London; New York, N.Y.: Samuel French, published 1943, →OCLC, Act II, scene i, page 40:
All the Marys, Janes, Francoises and Mikis darlinged and honeyed me for a day or two then vanished for ever. After a few weeks I could not recall their names or faces.1990, Khushwant Singh, “Bhagmati”, in Delhi, New Delhi: Penguin Books India, →ISBN, pages 108–109:
He was darlinging his wife at every opportunity. They were going to have a silver wedding party. And, according to Geraldine, this was meant to be a dead marriage.2000, Maeve Binchy, Scarlet Feather, London: Orion, →ISBN, page 174: