Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary · 1913

Linger

Linger (lin"gẽr) , intransitive verb

[Old English lengen to tarry, Anglo-Saxon lengan to prolong, put off, from lang long. r125. See Long, a.]

To delay; to loiter; to remain or wait long; to be slow or reluctant in parting or moving; to be slow in deciding; to be in suspense; to hesitate.
Nor cast one longing, lingering look behind. — Gray
Perhaps thou linger'st, in deep thoughts detained. — Milton

Linger , transitive verb

1.
To protract; to draw out. [Obsolete]
She lingers my desires. — Shakespeare
2.
To spend or pass in a lingering manner; -- with out; as, to linger out one's days on a sick bed. — Dryden