darkling
Definition from Wiktionary, the free dictionary
Contents |
English [edit]
Etymology [edit]
From Middle English derkelyng, from derk (“dark”) + -lyng (“-ling”).
The verb darkle is a back-formation from darkling.
Noun [edit]
darkling (plural darklings)
Adjective [edit]
darkling (comparative more darkling, superlative most darkling)
- 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
- 1867, Matthew Arnold, Dover Beach:
- obscure, done or happening 'in the dark' or unseen
Adverb [edit]
darkling (comparative more darkling, superlative most darkling)
- 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.
- Shakespeare, King Lear
Verb [edit]
darkling
- Present participle of darkle.
References [edit]
- Webster's Seventh New Collegiate Dictionary, Springfield, Massachusetts, G.&C. Merriam Co., 1967