cling

• IPA^(key): /ˈklɪŋ/
• Rhymes: -ɪŋ

From Middle English clingen, from Old English clingan (“to adhere”), from Proto-Germanic *klinganą. Cognate with Danish klynge (“to cluster, to crowd”). Compare clump.

cling (plural clings)

1. Fruit (especially peach) whose flesh adheres strongly to the pit.
   • 1908, O. Henry, Hostages to Momus:

     Antelope steaks and fried liver to begin on, and venison cutlets with chili con carne and pineapple fritters, and then some sardines and mixed pickles; and top it off with a can of yellow clings and a bottle of beer.

2. adherence; attachment; devotion
   • (Can we date this quote?) John Milton

     A more tenacious cling to worldly respects.

cling (third-person singular simple present clings, present participle clinging, simple past and past participle clung)

1. To hold very tightly, as to not fall off.

   Seaweed clung to the anchor.

   • 2017, Jennifer S. Holland, For These Monkeys, It’s a Fight for Survival., National Geographic (March 2017)

     Cartoonish, wide-eyed infants cling to their mothers or play together low to the ground.

   • 1823, Felicia Dorothea Browne Hemans, The Vespers of Palermo‎, Act the First:

     And what hath life for thee / That thou shouldst cling to it thus?

2. To adhere to an object, without being affixed, in such a way as to follow its contours. Used especially of fabrics and films.
3. (transitive) To cause to adhere to, especially by twining round or embracing.
   • (Can we date this quote?) Jonathan Swift

     I clung legs as close to his side as I could.

4. (transitive) To cause to dry up or wither.
   • c. 1606, William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Macbeth”, Act V, scene v

     If thou speak'st false, / Upon the next tree shalt thou hang alive, / Till famine cling thee.

5. (intransitive) To dry up or wither.

   Wood clings.

6. (figuratively, with preposition to) to be fond of, to feel strongly about

• (hold tightly): clinch, grip; see also Thesaurus:grasp
• (adhere): cleave, stick; see also Thesaurus:adhere

• clingy
• cling film/clingfilm

• cling in The Century Dictionary, The Century Co., New York, 1911
• cling in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.
• Notes:

Imitative; compare clink, clang.

cling (third-person singular simple present clings, present participle clinging, simple past and past participle clinged)

1. To produce a high-pitched ringing sound, like a small bell.
   • 1913, Cleveland Moffett, ‎Oliver Herford, The Bishop's Purse (page 121)

     The tiny chimes clinged the hours and quarters against his right and Kate's left ear. They counted nine and three-quarters.

   • 2003, Femi Abodunrin, The Dancing Masquerade, page 24:

     The latter, armed with the most famous tool of their trade — tiny clinging bells — created a small band of untrained orchestra giving their part of the market a festive outlook […]

cling

1. Alternative form of clingen