An archaic or dialectal term for a deserted, abandoned, or forsaken person; a derelict or outcast.
From Middle English dere- (harm, injury) + -ling (diminutive suffix). Related to 'dere' meaning to injure, combined with the -ling suffix used for small or pitiful creatures, creating a word for one who is harmfully abandoned.
Medieval English had wonderfully specific insults: a 'dereling' wasn't just poor—it was someone society had actively cast out and left to suffer, a word that shows how language preserved social judgment.
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