How do you pronounce longing?

The recorded pronunciation is /ˈlɔːŋɪŋ/.

Where does longing come from?

It is traced to Middle English.

longing

/ˈlɔːŋɪŋ/

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: 3.50 in modern English

Syllables: long-ing
IPA: /ˈlɔːŋɪŋ/

Scrabble Score

Letters

Syllables

Unique Chars

Meaning

verb

present participle and gerund of long

noun

An earnest and deep, not greatly passionate, but rather melancholic desire.

noun

The buying of a financial instrument with the expectation that its value will rise.

Example Sentences

"all natural lovings and longings"
"For round the valley a great desert lies through which no common traveller may come, but those whom the gods have chosen feel suddenly a great longing at heart, and crossing the mountains that divide the desert from the world, set out across it driven by the gods, […]"

Etymology

From Middle English longynge, langynge, langand, from Old English langiende, from Proto-Germanic *langōndz, present participle of Proto-Germanic *langōną (“to desire, long for”), equivalent to long + -ing (present participle ending).

Origin

Source language: Middle English

Word Breakdown

Root: longynge, langiende, *langōndz, *langōną, longinge, longung

Regional Pronunciation

American English: /ˈlɔːŋɪŋ/
British English: /ˈlɒŋɪŋ/

Inflected Forms

more longing (comparative) most longing (superlative) longings (plural)

Derived Forms

longingly longingness

Phrases

longing-mark longing mark

Frequently Paired Words

long desire miss

Synonyms

yearning hungriness

Rhymes With

belonging prolonging