darkling

English

Etymology

From Middle English derkelyng, from derk (“dark”) + -lyng (“-ling”).

The verb darkle is a back-formation from darkling.

Noun

darkling (plural darklings)

1. darkness
2. (fantasy) a creature that lives in the dark

Adjective

darkling (comparative more darkling, superlative most darkling)

1. dark; darkening
   • 1867, Matthew Arnold, Dover Beach:

     And we are here as on a darkling plain

     Swept with confused alarms of struggle and flight,

     Where ignorant armies clash by night

2. obscure, done or happening 'in the dark' or unseen

Adverb

darkling (comparative more darkling, superlative most darkling)

1. in the dark; in obscurity
   • Shakespeare, King Lear

     So, out went the candle, and we were left darkling.

   • Milton

     As the wakeful bird sings darkling.

Verb

darkling

1. Present participle of darkle.

References

• Webster's Seventh New Collegiate Dictionary, Springfield, Massachusetts, G.&C. Merriam Co., 1967