English

The Darling River, near Bourke

Proper noun

Darling

1. An English and Scottish surname​, originally a nickname from darling.
   • 2005, Michael Dowling, Jürgen Schmude, Dodo zu Knyphausen-Aufsess, Advances in Interdisciplinary European Entrepreneurship Research

     Richard and David Darling, founders of Codemasters, a multimillion-pound computer game company, dropped out of school aged 15 and 16 to write computer games […]

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.

See also

• Wiktionary's coverage of Baagandji terms

External links

• Ethnologue entry for Darling, drl

Anagrams

• larding

English

Alternative forms

• darlin’ (informal)
• dearling

Noun

darling ‎(plural darlings)

1. A person who is dear to one.
   • 1959, Georgette Heyer, chapter 1, in The Unknown Ajax:

     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.

   • 2011 December 15, Felicity Cloake, “How to cook the perfect nut roast”, in Guardian:

     If there's such a thing as pariah food – a recipe shunned by mainstream menus, mocked to near extinction and consigned to niche hinterlands for evermore – then the nut roast, a dish whose very name has become a watchword for sawdusty disappointment, is surely a strong contender. 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.

2. (by extension) A person who is very popular with a certain group.

   a media darling

   a darling of the theatre

Synonyms

• dearling
• dearie
• liefling
• loveling
• lovie
• sweetling
• sweetie

Derived terms

• darlinghood
• kill one's darlings
• media darling

Translations

Adjective

darling ‎(comparative darlinger, superlative darlingest)

1. Dear; cherished.

   She is my darling wife of twenty-two years.

2. charming

   Well isn't that a darling little outfit she has on.

Translations

Usage notes

darlinger is rarely used.

Anagrams

• larding