-ling

//lɪŋ// suffix

suffix ·Uncommon ·Advanced level

Definitions

Suffix
  1. 1
    small, immature, miniature morpheme
  2. 2
    An adverbial suffix denoting manner, direction, or position. idiomatic, morpheme
  3. 3
    follower or resident morpheme

Synonyms

All synonyms
culeeeeletetteicle

Etymology

Etymology 1

From Middle English -ling, from Old English -ling, from Proto-West Germanic *-ling, from Proto-Germanic *-lingaz, a nominal suffix, probably composed of Proto-Germanic *-ilaz (agent/instrumental/diminutive suffix) + Proto-Germanic *-ingaz (patronymic suffix). Akin to Dutch -ling, German -ling, Icelandic -lingur, Gothic -𐌻𐌹𐌲𐌲𐍃 (-liggs). More at -le, -ing.

Etymology 2

From Middle English -ling, from Old English -ling, -linga, -lunga (adverbial suffix). Compare -long.

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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.