madling

English

Etymology 1

From mad +‎ -ling.

Noun

madling (plural madlings)

1. A mad creature; one who acts wildly or foolishly.
   • 1881, Benjamin Preston, Dialect and other poems, with glossary of the local words:

     A madling acts in opposition to common sense. He is an owd madling whose reason has become childish by the lapse of years.

   • 2006, Jacqueline Carey, Godslayer: Volume II of The Sundering:

     A madling was speaking to them; a woman. Dani stopped with a mind to retreat.

   • 2010, George R. R. Martin, Gardner Dozois, Songs of the Dying Earth:

     The madling—he had appeared today in the form of Austeri-Pranz, one of Vespanus' instructors at Roë, an intimidating man with bulging, rolling eyes and a formidable overbite—gave the question his consideration.

Etymology 2

Either from attributive use of madling (see above), or for maddling, present participle of maddle (“to be mad”). More at maddle.

Adjective

madling (comparative more madling, superlative most madling)

1. (dialect, chiefly archaic) Mad; insane; crazy.
   • 1881, Benjamin Preston, Dialect and other poems, with glossary of the local words:

     To be madling is to have our ideas confused.

   • 2006, Jacqueline Carey, Godslayer: Volume II of The Sundering:

     The madling woman snatched the tray from his hands, giving it to the Fjeltroll to inspect.

   • 2014, Richard Monaco, Parsival:

     She blinked her painful eyes. “Oh,” she said, “the madling boy. . . . But how would I know this? Why do you trouble me with this? […]

Anagrams

• malding