Darling (Hastings' Dictionary)

This is the tr" of Heb. ""n; yd/ndh, in Ps 22- ' ' Diliver . . my d. from the power of the dog,' and 35" 'rescue . . my d. from the lions' (marg. 'my only one'). 'My darlings' is also found in Bar 4-' AVm (AV and RV 'my delicate ones.' Gr. oi rpv^epoi ^ou). Cf. Ko 1' VVyclif, 'to alle that ben at rome, derlyngis of god and clepid holy'; and Latimer (irorits, ii. 438), 'Christ Jesus, the dear darling and only begotten and beloved son of God.'

The word, now too familiar for such usage, is formed from dear with suffix -inrj, which became -ling through its freq. addition to words ending in I; so nestling, seedling, etc. The Heb. )/Qf/idh is used for an only son, but in Ps 22'^' 35'" it is poetically transferred to the psalmist's own life ' as the one unique and price- less posses.sion which can never be rejtlaced ' — Oyf. Heb. Lex. For the Eng. use compare Shaks. Othello, HI. iv. 70— • Make k a darling like your precious eve.' J.

Hastings.