Doveling

/ˈdʌvlɪŋ/ noun

Definition

A young dove; a small dove (variant of dovelet).

Etymology

From 'dove' plus the diminutive suffix '-ling,' which also means 'small version of.' Both '-let' and '-ling' were used in English to create diminutive forms, with '-ling' being more common in older texts.

Kelly Says

Old English used '-ling' for cute small things way more than we do now—you'd see 'gosling' (baby goose), 'duckling,' and 'darling' (literally 'little dear')—it's a very old and productive ending.

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