- underling
- noun Date: 12th century one who is under the orders of another ; subordinate, inferior
New Collegiate Dictionary. 2001.
underling
Look at other dictionaries:
Underling — Un der*ling, n. [Under + ling.] 1. An inferior person or agent; a subordinate; a low ranking employee. Milton. [1913 Webster] 2. Hence, A mean, sorry fellow. Milton. [1913 Webster] The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars, But in ourselves,… … The Collaborative International Dictionary of English
underling — index assistant, coadjutant Burton s Legal Thesaurus. William C. Burton. 2006 … Law dictionary
underling — (n.) late 12c., from UNDER (Cf. under) + dim. suffix LING (Cf. ling) … Etymology dictionary
underling — n *inferior, subordinate Antonyms: leader, master … New Dictionary of Synonyms
underling — [n] subordinate aide, assistant, attendant, deputy, flunky*, gofer*, helper, inferior, lackey*, minion, peon, scrub*, second, second fiddle*, second stringer*, serf, servant, slave; concepts 348,423 … New thesaurus
underling — ► NOUN chiefly derogatory ▪ a subordinate … English terms dictionary
underling — [un′dər liŋ] n. [ME < OE: see UNDER & LING1] a person in a subordinate position; inferior: usually contemptuous or disparaging … English World dictionary
underling — [[t]ʌ̱ndə(r)lɪŋ[/t]] underlings N COUNT (disapproval) You refer to someone as an underling when they are inferior in rank or status to someone else and take orders from them. You use this word to show that you do not respect someone. Every… … English dictionary
underling — UK [ˈʌndə(r)lɪŋ] / US [ˈʌndərlɪŋ] noun [countable] Word forms underling : singular underling plural underlings an insulting word for someone who is less important or has lower status in an organization than someone else … English dictionary
underling — m ( es/ as) underling, inferior … Old to modern English dictionary
underling — un·der·ling (ŭn’dər lĭng) n. ▸ One of lesser rank or authority than another; a subordinate. Word History: The suffix ling, inherited from Common Germanic, already had several uses in Old English, all of which produced new nouns. It could, for… … Word Histories
