Linger Definition

lĭnggər
lingered, lingers
verb
lingered, lingers
To spend (a period of time) idly, slowly, etc.
Webster's New World
To continue to stay, esp. from a reluctance to leave.
Lingering at the door.
Webster's New World
To continue or persist.
A smell that lingered in the air; doubts that lingered in my mind.
American Heritage
To pause or dwell (over or on something) in contemplation, deliberation, enjoyment, etc.
To linger over a favorite passage in a novel.
Webster's New World
To remain feebly alive for some time before dying.
American Heritage Medicine

Origin of Linger

  • From Middle English lenger, lengeren, frequentative of lengen, from Old English lengan, from Proto-Germanic *langijanÄ… (compare Dutch lengen), probably related to the root of long.

    From Wiktionary

  • Middle English lengeren frequentative of lengen to prolong from Old English lengan del-1 in Indo-European roots

    From American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition

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