lengan

to prolong, lengthen

1 / 1

The last café customer remains comfortably seated over an empty cup while a worker stacks the surrounding chairs to close.

verb

linger

LING-ger/ˈlɪŋɡər/

To stay or continue longer than expected.

Etymology

lingOld Englishto prolong, lengthen

+erEnglisha person or thing that does something

The lengthening root, with a repeated-action suffix, came to describe tarrying or dwelling: effectively, lengthening one's stay. From this developed the sense of delaying departure or continuing longer than expected.

Full entry

Related word entries

linger