Linger

How to spell linger

6 letters · 2 syllables

How to pronounce linger

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does linger mean?

1. verbTo stay in a place or remain present longer than usual, often because one is reluctant to leave.

Linger in a sentence

• The guests tended to linger in the hallway after dinner.

• The smell of fresh paint can linger for days in a closed room.

Where does linger come from?

Language of origin: Germanic

Linger comes from Middle English lengeren, a frequentative form of the older verb lengen, which meant to tarry, to dwell, or to prolong. That verb traces back to Old English lengan, meaning to make long or to extend, which itself grew from lang, the ancestor of our modern word long. So at its heart linger literally carries the idea of stretching something out in time, of making a moment last longer than it should. The frequentative ending er added the sense of repeated or continued action, giving the feeling of staying on and on. The word is closely related to length and to the verb to long for something, all sharing that same Germanic root meaning long.

How the word is built

• linger (from Middle English lengen: to tarry, prolong)
• -er (frequentative verb suffix)