Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary · 1913

darling

darling , noun

[Old English derling, deorling, Anglo-Saxon deórling; deóre dear + -ling. See Dear, and -ling.]

One dearly beloved; a favorite.
And can do naught but wail her darling's loss. — Shakespeare

darling , adjective

Dearly beloved; regarded with especial kindness and tenderness; favorite.
Some darling science. — I. Watts
Darling sin. — Macaulay