darkling

darkling · adverb¹

1. Middle English · inherited fromderkelyng
2. English todaydarkling

From Middle English derkelyng. By surface analysis, dark + -ling.

darkling · adjective²

Coined by Irish poet Mary Tighe in 1805, likely as an extension of the adverbial sense, and popularized by John Keats.

darkling · noun, verb³

From darkle + -ing, darkle itself a backformation from Tighe's adjectival sense.

darkling · noun⁴

From dark + -ling.

First known use, by meaning

• from 18th c. A child of darkness; someone dark by nature or who has grown dark in character.