-ling

Meaning

1. (morpheme) small, immature, miniature
2. (morpheme) follower or resident

Synonyms

ling

-let

Translations

-ette

-ling

-ling

-chen

-in

-ine

-et

-etto

-ino

-ello

-ina

-ella

-etta

-je

-pje

Etymology

Inherited from Middle English: -ling

Inherited from Old English: -ling

Cognate with German: -ling

Cognate with Icelandic: -lingur

Cognate with Gothic: -𐌻𐌹𐌲𐌲𐍃

In summary

From Middle English -ling, from Old English -ling, from Proto-West Germanic *-ling, from Proto-Germanic *-lingaz, a nominal suffix, probably composed of Proto-Germanic *-ilaz (agent/instrumental/diminutive suffix) + Proto-Germanic *-ingaz (patronymic suffix).
Akin to Dutch -ling, German -ling, Icelandic -lingur, Gothic -𐌻𐌹𐌲𐌲𐍃 (-liggs). More at -le, -ing.