darling

< /ˈnɔr wʊd/, Ding, 1876–1962, U.S. political cartoonist.

noun

1. a person very much loved: often used as a term of address
2. a favouritethe teacher’s darling

adjective (prenominal)

3. beloved
4. much admired; pleasinga darling hat

noun

1. Grace. 1815–42, English national heroine, famous for her rescue (1838) of some shipwrecked sailors with her father, a lighthouse keeper

Old English deorling “darling, favorite minion,” double diminutive of deor “dear” (see dear (adj.)). The vowel shift from -e- to -a- (16c.) is usual for -er- followed by a consonant. “It is better to be An olde mans derlyng, than a yong mans werlyng” (1562).