Wiktionary

linger

See also: Linger

English

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Etymology

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From Middle English lengeren, frequentative of lengen (“to stay, dwell, tarry”), from Old English lenġan (“to lengthen, delay, extend”), from Proto-West Germanic *langijan, from Proto-Germanic *langijaną (compare West Frisian lingje (“to linger”), Dutch lengen, German längen, Icelandic lengja (“to lengthen”)), related to the root of English long. Equivalent to linge or long ‎ -er (frequentative verb suffix).

Pronunciation

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Verb

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linger (third-person singular simple present lingers, present participle lingering, simple past and past participle lingered)

  1. (intransitive) To stay or remain in a place or situation, especially as if unwilling to depart or not easily able to do so.
    Synonyms: abide, loiter, tarry; see also Thesaurus:tarry
    • c. 1596–1598 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Merchant of Venice”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act II, scene ix], page 172:
      Still more foole I ſhall appeare / By the time I linger here
    • 1859, Charles Dickens, chapter 15, in A Tale of Two Cities:
      His tone lingered in the air, almost like the tone of a musical instrument.
    • 1891 July, Edith Wharton, “Mrs. Manstey's View”, in Scribner’s Magazine‎[1]:
      She lingered in the window until the windy sunset died in bat-colored dusk; then, going to bed, she lay sleepless all night.
    • 1931, “Dream a Little Dream of Me”, Gus Kahn (lyrics), Fabian Andre and Wilbur Schwandt (music):
      Stars fading but I linger on, dear / Still craving your kiss / I'm longin' to linger till dawn, dear / Just saying this
    • 2011 April 25, Alice Park, “Upgrading the Disaster”, in Time‎[2], archived from the original on 3 December 2011:
      It takes into account […] predictions of how long radioactive contaminants will linger in the soil and water near the nuclear facility.
    • 2016 January 30, “Hillary Clinton for the Democratic Nomination”, in The New York Times‎[3], retrieved 30 January 2016:
      Mrs. Clinton’s main opponent, Senator Bernie Sanders, a self-described Democratic Socialist, has proved to be more formidable than most people, including Mrs. Clinton, anticipated. He has brought income inequality and the lingering pain of the middle class to center stage and pushed Mrs. Clinton a bit more to the left than she might have gone on economic issues.
  2. (intransitive) To remain alive or existent although still proceeding toward death or extinction; to die gradually.
    • 1887, Thomas Hardy, chapter 14, in The Woodlanders:
      He lingered through the day, and died that evening as the sun went down.
    • 1904, Andrew Lang, “Asmund and Signy”, in The Brown Fairy Book:
      During his absence the queen fell ill, and after lingering for some time she died.
  3. (intransitive, often followed by on) To consider or contemplate for a period of time; to engage in analytic thinking or discussion.
    • 2011 April 14, Michael Scherer, “Trump's Political Reality Show: Will the Donald Really Run for President?”, in Time‎[4], archived from the original on 23 September 2011:
      Trump doesn't linger on the poll.

Derived terms

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Terms derived from linger

Translations

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Anagrams

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French

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Etymology

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From linge ‎ -ier (with elision of -i- after palatal).

Pronunciation

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Noun

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linger m (plural lingers, feminine lingère)

  1. linenkeeper

Further reading

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Anagrams

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