bantling
- noun
- /ˈbænt.lɪŋ/
- Archaic
:
infante
- In the village, every bantling was cherished as a blessing.
Examples
-
The old tale spoke of a lost bantling found in the woods by a kind farmer.
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She watched over the sleeping bantling with a gentle smile.
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The bantling giggled in the garden.
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She held the bantling close to her heart.
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The proud parents watched their bantling take its first steps.
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She gently cradled the bantling in her arms, singing softly to soothe him.
-
In the quaint nursery, the bantling slept peacefully in his crib.
Synonyms
2
5.5
A child or baby animal not yet fully grown
2
9.9
A very young child people speak to with love
1
9.8
A baby or very young child
A very young child in old language
A young child in old or local language
A very young child such as a newborn
A small child who behaves badly, often in a playful way
Antonyms
How Young
Surface Forms
Morphology
bantling = bant + ling
The suffix '-ling' clearly signals a diminutive/small person, but the root 'bant' is archaic or non‑productive in modern English, so learners cannot fully reconstruct the word from familiar components.
Etymology
The word bantling comes from an old short word bant plus the English ending -ling, which means 'small one', just like in duckling, so a bantling is a little child in old or literary language.