heirling

English

Etymology

From heir +‎ -ling.

Noun

heirling (plural heirlings)

1. diminutive of heir.
   • 1984, Carole Nelson Douglas, chapter 24, in Exiles of the Rynth, New York, N.Y.: Del Rey, →ISBN, page 246:

     Fanis slew his own sister for possession of the Shunstone, remember? I warrant his heirlings will be as jealous of the Stone as their ancestor was.

   • 2006, Andrew Hussey, “Sea Gods”, in Paris: The Secret History, New York, N.Y.: Bloomsbury USA, published 2007, →ISBN, part one (The Old Ocean, Prehistory to ad 987), page 29:

     Even so, the rule of the Frankish kings was not all catastrophe. Despite the blood-feuds of princes and heirlings, relative stability held good for most of the period, largely because the German border was quieter than it had been for centuries.

   • 2013, Chris Wilson, Horse Latitudes, [London?]: Sorika, →ISBN, page 110:

     William was an artist but all he did was shoot heroin and smoke crack and sell it to the fallen sons and daughters of the aristocracy, the damaged little heirlings who break apart to punish mummy and daddy, […]

Anagrams

• hireling