underling

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“
The head jailer appears to be as much at a loss as his underling, but he is suspected.

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Definitions (5)

Toggle American Heritage definitions American Heritage Dictionary (2)

  1. noun One of lesser rank or authority than another; a subordinate.
  2. Word History
    Learning the meanings of affixes is a common approach to building vocabulary, but studying a group of words that share an affix can be fascinating in its own right. The suffix -ling, inherited from Common Germanic, already had several uses in Old English, all of which produced new nouns. It could, for example, be added to a noun to make a second noun that referred to something connected with or similar to the first noun; thus, adding this suffix to the Old English word yrth, "ploughland,” produced the Old English word yrthling, "plowman.” The suffix could also be added to an adjective to make a noun that referred to something having the quality denoted by the adjective: from Old English dēore, "dear, beloved,” was derived dēorling (Modern English darling). Adding -ling to an adverb produced a noun referring to something having the position or condition denoted by the adverb: from Old English under came underling. This last use of -ling is actually taken over from Old Norse. In Old Norse -ling was used to form diminutives; thus, our word gosling was a borrowing in Middle English of an Old Norse word, gæslingr, "gosling, a little goose.”

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Examples (50)

  • But the story was probably made out for the “patronus” or advocate by an underling, and in some way prepared for him. —  Life of Cicero
  • He seemed to regard himself as having been suddenly demoted to the position of Baley's underling, and Baley behaved as though he accepted the fact. —  OCTOBER, 1953 Vol
  • Anyone witnessing what happened was probably an underling, a subordinate, and may have needed time to work through in his or her own mind a difficult ethical dilemma - protect a superior, or follow the dictates of conscience. —  Progressive Bloggers
  • The boss resents giving so much guidance; his underling is frustrated that he is being given so little. —  Psychology Today
  • I laughed heartily at much of "Observe" (everything except Michael Pena as Ronnie's top underling, the only actor here straining obnoxiously to make himself noticed), marveling over its determination to creep out the room with constant displays of pure inhumanity. —  DVD Talk
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Roget's II Roget's II: The New Thesaurus

Allen's Allen's Synonyms and Antonyms

Used in the same context Used in the Same Context

scribblers ·  minion ·  valet ·  pettifogger ·  serf ·  coachmen ·  functionary ·  retainer ·  vassal

Used in the same contextWord Family

underling:   underlings
Roget's II: The New Thesaurus, Third Edition by the Editors of the American Heritage® Dictionary. Copyright © 2003, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Etymologies (1)

Toggle Century etymologies Century Dictionary (1)

  1. from Middle English underling, onderling; from under + -ling.
 

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/ˈəndərlɪŋ/
by American Heritage

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