moonling

English

Etymology

moon +‎ -ling. Compare moon-related origins of lunacy and lunatic.

Noun

moonling (plural moonlings)

1. (archaic) A simpleton; a lunatic.
   • 1616, The Devil is an Ass:

     I have a husband, and a two-legg'd one, But such a moonling, as no wit of man, Or roses can redeem from being an ass.

   • 1854, The Bride of the Wilderness, page 13:

     Of the members composing this household, there are but two of whom it will be necessary to speak in this connection; and these are the moonling, or simpleton, and the sister of the wife.

   • 2009, Sylvia Andrew, Francesca, page 18:

     But allow me to say that you were standing like a moonling on that road.

   • 2018, Carolyn Miller, Winning Miss Winthrop:

     "Jack is n-not a moonling," Catherine said. "His m-mother became ill before his birth. He c-cannot be blamed for any mental deficiency."

2. (archaic or poetic) One who is lovesick; one who moons over a beloved.
   • 2011, Barbara Metzger, A Suspicious Affair:

     The sky was not quite as blue as her—Thunderation, he was no moonling!

   • 2013, Zara Borthwick, ‎Nicholas Arnold, Wonderful, page 55:

     Remaining there long enough to hear Those words that moonling longs to hear...I love you

   • 2017, Shirlee Busbee, Swear by Moonlight:

     Here he was, reputed to be a rake among rakes, but he discovered, where Thea was concerned, he was as vulnerable and uncertain as the greenest moonling in love for the first time.

3. A changeling.
   • 2011, M. P. Rogers, Oona Paraselene, page 140:

     "I see. He's a black man. But Jacob Millhaven is not black. Eldridge was left on his doorstep as a baby, and the philosopher adopted him." "Oh! Then he's a moonling! He doesn't seem to suffer from any stigma."

4. (science fiction) Someone from the Moon.
   • 1981, Ruth Beall Heinig, ‎Lyda Stillwell, Creative Drama for the Classroom Teacher, page 248:

     A shy moonling hangs on the suit of an astronaut and is taken back to earth.

   • 2010, Michael M. Domach, Introduction to Biomedical Engineering, page 204:

     For a given walking speed, will an earthling astronaut or a moonling do less, equal, or more work when taking a stroll on the Moon, and by what factor?

   • 2016, Adam Roberts, The History of Science Fiction, page 142:

     This, together with the 'balloon manufactured entirely of dirty newspaper' in which the dwarf/moonling descends at the tale's opening, points to some self-referential satire on behalf of Poe, a newspaperman himself.