linger

lin·ger  (lnggr)

v. lin·gered, lin·ger·ing, lin·gers

v.intr.

1. To be slow in leaving, especially out of reluctance; tarry. See Synonyms at stay¹.

2. To remain feebly alive for some time before dying.

3. To persist: an aftertaste that lingers.

4. To proceed slowly; saunter.

5. To be tardy in acting; procrastinate.

v.tr.

To pass (a period of time) in a leisurely or aimless manner.

---

[Middle English lengeren, frequentative of lengen, to prolong, from Old English lengan; see del-¹ in Indo-European roots.]

---

linger·er n.

linger·ing·ly adv.

---

linger [ˈlɪŋgə]

vb (mainly intr)

1. to delay or prolong departure

2. to go in a slow or leisurely manner; saunter

3. to remain just alive for some time prior to death

4. to persist or continue, esp in the mind

5. to be slow to act; dither; procrastinate

[C13 (northern dialect) lengeren to dwell, from lengen to prolong, from Old English lengan; related to Old Norse lengja; see long¹]

lingerer  n

lingering  adj

lingeringly  adv

Thesaurus

Verb	1.	linger - remain present although waning or gradually dying; "Her perfume lingered on" persist, remain, stay - stay behind; "The smell stayed in the room"; "The hostility remained long after they made up"
	2.	linger - be about; "The high school students like to loiter in the Central Square"; "Who is this man that is hanging around the department?" footle, hang around, lallygag, loiter, lollygag, mess about, mill about, mill around, tarry, lounge, lurk, loaf be - have the quality of being; (copula, used with an adjective or a predicate noun); "John is rich"; "This is not a good answer" prowl, lurch - loiter about, with no apparent aim
	3.	linger - leave slowly and hesitantly tarry go forth, leave, go away - go away from a place; "At what time does your train leave?"; "She didn't leave until midnight"; "The ship leaves at midnight"
	4.	linger - take one's time; proceed slowly dawdle move - move so as to change position, perform a nontranslational motion; "He moved his hand slightly to the right" dwell on, linger over - delay hie, hotfoot, pelt along, race, rush, rush along, speed, step on it, belt along, bucket along, cannonball along, hasten - move fast; "He rushed down the hall to receive his guests"; "The cars raced down the street"
	5.	linger - move to and fro; "The shy student lingered in the corner" hover hesitate, waffle, waver - pause or hold back in uncertainty or unwillingness; "Authorities hesitate to quote exact figures"

---

linger

verb

1. continue, last, remain, stay, carry on, endure, persist, abide The guilty feelings lingered.

2. hang on, last, survive, cling to life, die slowly He lingered for weeks in a coma.

3. stay, remain, stop, wait, delay, lag, hang around, idle, dally, loiter, take your time, wait around, dawdle, hang in the air, procrastinate, tarry, drag your feet or heels Customers are welcome to linger over coffee until midnight.

Translations

linger [ˈlɪŋgəʳ] VI

1. (= be unwilling to go) → rezagarse, tardar en marcharse

2. (also linger on) (in dying) → tardar en morirse; [pain] → persistir, durar; [doubts] → persistir, quedar; [smell] → persistir, tardar en desaparecer; [tradition] → sobrevivir; [memory] → pervivir, seguir vivo

3. (= take one's time) to linger on a subject → dilatarse con un tema
I let my eye linger on the scene → seguía sin apartar los ojos de la escena
to linger over doing sth → tardar or no darse prisa en hacer algo
to linger over a meal → comer despacio

---

linger [ˈlɪŋgə^r] vi

[person] → s'attarder
Davis lingered for a moment in the bar → Davis s'attarda un moment au bar.
to linger over a cup of coffee → se prélasser en buvant une tasse de café

[smell, tradition] → persister; [feeling] → persister

---

linger

vi

(also linger on) → (zurück)bleiben, verweilen (liter); (in dying) → zwischen Leben und Tod schweben; (custom) → fortbestehen, sich halten; (doubts, suspicions) → zurückbleiben; (feeling, emotion, pain) → anhalten, bleiben; (memory) → fortbestehen, bleiben; (chords) → nachklingen; (scent) → sich halten; the party was over, but many of the guests lingered in the hall → die Party war vorbei, aber viele Gäste standen noch im Flur herum; it was incredible how Franco lingered on → es war erstaunlich, wie Franco sich an der Macht festkkrallte

(= delay) → sich aufhalten, verweilen (liter); I mustn’t linger or I’ll miss the bus → ich darf mich nicht lange aufhalten, sonst verpasse ich den Bus

(= dwell) to linger on a subject → bei einem Thema verweilen (geh); I let my eyes linger on the scene → ich ließ meinen Blick auf der Szene ruhen; to linger over a meal → sich (dat) → bei einer Mahlzeit Zeit lassen, sich bei einer Mahlzeit lange aufhalten; we lingered over a glass of wine → wir tranken gemächlich ein Glas Wein

---

linger [ˈlɪŋgəʳ] vi (person, dawdle) → indugiare; (wait) → attardarsi; (be on the point of death) → trascinarsi; (smell, memory, tradition) → persistere
to linger over a meal → attardarsi a tavola
to linger on a subject → dilungarsi su un argomento

---

linger [ˈlɪŋgəʳ] vi (person, dawdle) → indugiare; (wait) → attardarsi; (be on the point of death) → trascinarsi; (smell, memory, tradition) → persistere
to linger over a meal → attardarsi a tavola
to linger on a subject → dilungarsi su un argomento

---

linger

v linger [ˈliŋgə]

1 to remain, last or continue for a long time or after the expected time The smell of the bad fish lingered for days. draal, sloer يَبْقى бавя се přetrvávat forblive; fortsætte bleiben ξεμένω, παραμένω, διαρκώ περισσότερο από το αναμενόμενο quedarse püsima دیر رفتن viipyä persister לְהִישָאֵר ठहरा रहना zadržavati se, ostajati tart menetap dvelja, verða eftir rimanere 長く残る 좀처럼 없어지지 않다 laikytis, tvyroti uzkavēties; ieilgt masih terbau blijven hangen holde seg, trekke ut pozostawać w tyle, trwać durar a per­sista оставаться držať sa vztrajati ostati stanna kvar ยังเหลืออยู่ (bir süre daha) devam etmek 逗留 затримуватися لمبے وقت کے لیے رہنا vẫn còn lưu lại 逗留

2 to proceed slowly or delay We lingered in the hall, looking at the pictures. draai يَتَوانى влача prodlévat dvæle trödeln χρονοτριβώ, καθυστερώ persistir, perdurar, quedarse viivitama تاخیر کردن aikailla s'attarder לְהִתעַכֵּב धीमे से करना, घसीटते रहना zaostajati időzik berlambat-lambat staldra við attardarsi, fermarsi ぶらつく 꾸물거리다 užsibūti, užtrukti vilcināties; kavēties berlambat-lambat talmen dvele, nøle przeciągać pobyt, marudzić permanecer a zăbovi задерживаться zdržiavať sa zadržati se tegliti se dröja [] kvar อ้อยอิ่ง oyalanmak 閒盪 баритися, гаятися دھیرے دھیرے بڑھنا lần nữa 闲荡