A child or person for whom charges must be paid; a dependent whose expenses are borne by another; archaic term.
From 'charge' plus '-ling' diminutive suffix (meaning a young creature or one who is a charge). This archaic formation follows medieval patterns like 'hireling' (one who is hired) and 'underling' (one who is under).
The '-ling' suffix sounds charming and diminutive now, but it originally marked social status—a 'chargeling' was literally a person of dependent status. Language encoded hierarchy directly into words.
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