-ling

-ling
-ling diminutive suffix, early 14c., from O.E. -ling a nominal suffix (not originally diminutive), from P.Gmc. *-linga-; attested in historical Germanic languages as a simple suffix, but probably representing a fusion of the suffixes represented by English -le (Cf. ICICLE (Cf. icicle), THIMBLE (Cf. thimble), HANDLE (Cf. handle)), from O.E. -ol, -ul, -el; and -ing, suffix indicating "person or thing of a specific kind or origin;" in masculine nouns also "son of" (Cf. FARTHING (Cf. farthing), ATHELING (Cf. atheling), O.E. HORING (Cf. horing) "adulterer, fornicator"). Both these suffixes had occasional diminutive force, but this was only slightly evident in O.E. -ling and its equivalents in Germanic languages except Norse, where it commonly was used as a diminutive suffix, especially in words designating the young of animals (e.g. gæslingr "gosling"). Thus it is possible that the diminutive use that developed in Middle English is from Old Norse.

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  • Ling — may refer to: * Several species of fish: ** Burbot, Lota lota . ** Blue ling, Molva dypterygia . ** Cobia, Rachycentron canadum . ** Common ling, Molva molva . ** Pink cusk eel, Genypterus blacodes . ** Red hake, Urophycis chuss . * A Chinese… …   Wikipedia

  • Ling — ist der Familienname folgender Personen: David Ling (* 1975), kanadischer Eishockeyspieler Laura Ling (*1976), US amerikanische Journalistin Michael Ling (*1962), Justiziar des Bistums Mainz Pehr Henrik Ling (1776 1839), schwedischer Dichter,… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • -ling — ( l[i^]ng) suff. [AS. ling.] A noun suffix, commonly having a diminutive or a depreciatory force; as in duckling, gosling, hireling, fosterling, firstling, underling. [1913 Webster] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Ling — Ling, n. [Icel. lyng; akin to Dan. lyng, Sw. ljung.] (Bot.) Heather ({Calluna vulgaris}). [1913 Webster] {Ling honey}, a sort of wild honey, made from the flowers of the heather. Holland. [1913 Webster] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Ling Li — (Chinese: 凌力; Pinyin: Líng Lì; February 13, 1942 ) is a famed Chinese writer and historian. She was born in Yan an, as Zeng Lili (曾黎力). Her former penname was Zeng Lili (曾莉莉). Her ancestor came from Yudu, Jiangxi Province. She graduated from PLA… …   Wikipedia

  • -ling — [lɪŋ], der; s, e <Suffix>: 1. <Basiswörter sind vor allem Adjektive, oft solche, die einsilbig oder nicht abgeleitet sind> (ironisch oder abschätzig) bezeichnet eine männliche Person, die mit der im Basiswort genannten Eigenschaft… …   Universal-Lexikon

  • -ling — An adverbial suffix; as, darkling, flatling. [1913 Webster] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Ling — (l[i^]ng), n. [OE. lenge; akin to D. leng, G. l[ a]nge, Dan. lange, Sw. l[*a]nga, Icel. langa. So named from its being long. See {Long}, a.] (Zo[ o]l.) (a) A large, marine, gadoid fish ({Molva vulgaris}) of Northern Europe and Greenland. It is… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • ling — [ lıŋ ] noun uncount a low wild plant with green leaves and purple flowers that grows in open areas. Ling is a type of heather …   Usage of the words and phrases in modern English

  • Ling — (izg. lȉng), Per Henrik (1776 1839) DEFINICIJA utemeljitelj švedske gimnastike, usp. lingijada …   Hrvatski jezični portal

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