darling
dar·ling/ˈdɑɹlɪŋ/noun, adjective, verb
darling is spelled D-A-R-L-I-N-G: 7 letters and 2 syllables (dar·ling). It appears 12 times per million words in written English, the 6,138th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, darling means “Often used as an affectionate term of address: a person who is very dear to one” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of darling is darlings.
How many letters and syllables are in darling?
| Letters | 7: D-A-R-L-I-N-G |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2: dar·ling |
| In writing | 12 times per million words; the 6,138th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Rhymes with |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is darling?
Darling appears 12 times per million words in written English, the 6,138th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce darling?
- UK /ˈdɑːlɪŋ/
- US /ˈdɑɹlɪŋ/
Darling has 2 syllables, split dar·ling in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-darling.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with darling?
One word on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as darling from its last stressed vowel (/ɑɹlɪŋ/):
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of darling
- darlings plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- darlin'
- darlint
- dearling
- more darling comparative
- darlinger comparative, rare
- most darling superlative
- darlingest rare, superlative
- darlinging participle, present
- darlinged participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does darling mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
Often used as an affectionate term of address: a person who is very dear to one.
Pass the wine, would you, darling?
- 2
A person who is kind, sweet, etc., and thus lovable; a pet, a sweetheart; also, an animal or thing which is cute and lovable.
The girl next door picks up all my shopping for me. She is such a darling.
- 3
A favourite.
- 4
The favourite child in a family.
Mary, the youngest daughter, was always her mother’s darling.
- 5
A person (often a woman) or thing that is very popular with a certain group of people.
a media darling
- 6
obsoleteA royal favourite, the intimate companion of a monarch or other royal personage, often delegated significant political power.
adjective
- 1
Very dear; beloved, cherished, favourite.
She is my darling wife of twenty-two years.
- 2
Very cute or lovable; adorable, charming, sweet.
Well, isn’t that a darling little outfit she has on?
verb
- 1
informalTo call (someone) "darling" (noun sense 1).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Darling in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | chéri, chérie |
| German | Liebling, Schatz, Schätzchen |
| Portuguese | querido, querida , amado , encantador |
| Spanish | amado, amada, querido, querida, cariño , encantador |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does darling come from?
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’).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).