-lings

From Middle English -linges, variant (with genitive -es) of Middle English -ling (adverbial suffix), equivalent to -ling +‎ -s. Compare Dutch -lings (adverbial suffix), German -lings.

-lings

1. (now Britain dialectal) forming adverbs, generally of condition or situation

• sling

The suffix is a combination of the suffix -ling and the adverb-forming -s.

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-lings

1. describes a manner in which an action proceeds as defined by root to which it is added, both as adverb and as adjective

   Hij dook zijdelings weg. ― He ducked away sideways.

From Middle High German -lingen, from Old High German lingūn. The modern form with -s is of Central and Low German origin; compare Middle Low German -linges.

• IPA^(key): /lɪŋs/

-lings

1. (rare, not productive) forms adverbs that describe the manner of an action, particularly a movement

   ‎Bauch (“abdomen, belly”) + ‎-lings → ‎bäuchlings (“on one’s belly”)

   ‎blind (“blind”) + ‎-lings → ‎blindlings (“blindly, hastily, pell-mell”)

   ‎Ritt (“ride”) + ‎-lings → ‎rittlings (“astride, sitting on something like on a mount”)

   ‎Rücken (“back”) + ‎-lings → ‎rücklings (“one one’s back”)

• The suffix was common and productive into early modern German. Most adverbs with it, apart from the four named above, are now archaic.