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The opening lines of the rock band Wilco’s song “My Darling,” sung from the perspective of a parent calming their sleepless child, demonstrate a very common use of the word darling: “Go back to sleep now, my darling / And I’ll keep all the bad dreams away.” Darling is an ancient word, traceable all the way back to the Old English noun dēorling, which was formed by attaching the suffix -ling to the adjective dēore, the ancestor of dear, which describes that which is regarded very affectionately or fondly, is highly valued or esteemed, or is beloved. Darling, as in “my darling,” is often used as a term of endearment, whether for a child or a sweetheart, but it can also be used as a synonym of the noun favorite, as in “the word darling has proven itself a darling of songwriters for many centuries.”
Examples of darling in a Sentence
Daniel Jonah Wolpert, NPR, 29 May 2026
What a week indie-disco darlings The Killers have ahead of them.
—Matt Slater, New York Times, 23 May 2026
Merrell Readman, Travel + Leisure, 23 May 2026
The show is part variety spectacular, part cabaret, part magic show, but always exceptionally darling.
—Matt Grobar, Deadline, 6 May 2026
See All Example Sentences for darling
Cite this Entry
“Darling.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/darling. Accessed 31 May. 2026.
Copy CitationKids Definition
darling
1 of 2 noun
Geographical Definition
Darling
geographical name
