darling

Plural: darlings

Noun

A much-loved person; a favorite or beloved one.
a special loved one
an Australian river; tributary of the Murray River
Often used as an affectionate term of address: a person who is very dear to one.
A person who is kind, sweet, etc., and thus lovable; a pet, a sweetheart; also, an animal or thing which is cute and lovable.
A favourite.
A favourite.
The favourite child in a family.
A favourite.
A person (often a woman) or thing that is very popular with a certain group of people.
A favourite.
A royal favourite, the intimate companion of a monarch or other royal personage, often delegated significant political power.

Adjective Satellite

dearly loved

Adj

Very dear; beloved, cherished, favourite.
Very cute or lovable; adorable, charming, sweet.

Verb

To call (someone) "darling" (noun sense 1).

Examples

a darling of the theatre
a media darling
Mary, the youngest daughter, was always her mother’s darling.
Pass the wine, would you, darling?
She is my darling wife of twenty-two years.
The blank tile was her DARLING, always there to complete any bingo.
The girl next door picks up all my shopping for me. She is such a darling.
Well, isn’t that a darling little outfit she has on?

Origin / Etymology

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.

Synonyms

beloved, Darling River, dear, dearie, deary, ducky, favorite, favourite, pet, Wearside), babber, babe, baby, babycakes, bae, bubba, bully, buttercup, cabbage, chickabiddy, chickadee, chuck, cupcake, cutie, dag, darl, darling, dear heart, dearest, dearling, dialectal (chiefly Geordie, doll, doodlebug, dove, duck, dumpling, fam, heart, heartface, heartling, heartmate, hinny, hon, honey, honey bun, honeybug, honeybunch, honeybunny, honeycakes, honeypie, informal or poetic), jewel, jo, kidder, lambchop, lambkin, lass (archaic except UK, liefling, little one, love, lovebug, loveling, lovie, luvvy, m'dear, miting, moppet, mopsy, mouse, muffin, muss, old bean, old sport, pally, petal, poppet, pug, pumpkin, pussums, pussy, sausage, schnookums, shug, snicklefritz, snookums, snuggums, squishy, sug, sugar, sugar baby, sugar beet, sugar-plum, sugarpie, sweet pea, sweetcheeks, sweetheart, sweetie, sweetie pie, sweetling, sweets, treasure, woobie

Scrabble Score: 9

darling: valid Scrabble (US) TWL Word
darling: valid Scrabble Word in Merriam-Webster MW Dictionary
darling: valid Scrabble Word in International Collins CSW Dictionary

Words With Friends Score: 12

darling: valid Words With Friends Word