What does fatling mean?
Fatling is an old noun for a fat person, especially a young person whose body has become plump or corpulent. It occurs chiefly in older British and American writing and is now largely literary, archaic, or intentionally comic. In many historical contexts, the word carries a mocking or disparaging tone, presenting the person as excessively well-fed, lazy, or pampered, although its exact implication depends on the surrounding narrative. A modern use would therefore require a deliberately old-fashioned register, as when a comic author calls a gluttonous schoolboy a “pampered fatling.” The word has also been used for a fat or fattened animal. Its interest lies partly in its social history: a straightforward historical label for body type became dated as language about weight became more varied and sensitive. Today, fatling is chiefly encountered in quotations, historical prose, and works that deliberately preserve an older voice.
nounAn archaic noun for a fat person, especially a young person who has become fat; by extension, a fat or fattened animal.
- A fat person, especially a young person who has become fat.
- A fat or fattened animal.
"The comic novelist portrays the pampered schoolboy as a gluttonous young fatling."
"In the old novel, the young fatling is mocked for his appetite and luxurious upbringing."
"In older agricultural writing, a young bull might be kept as a fatling before being sold."
The regular plural is rare because the word itself is chiefly archaic or literary.
"Several corpulent young fatlings appear in the old comic novel."
Fatling survives mainly in older literature, where its mockingly old-fashioned tone can make a familiar insult sound unexpectedly comic.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of fatling
Fatling is an English formation based on the adjective “fat” and the suffix “-ling,” a productive ending found in several established English nouns. The suffix has parallels in German and was used in English for kinds, roles, and occasionally diminutives. The compound became especially associated with older British and American usage for a corpulent or pampered person and, by extension, a fattened animal.
Related word forms
How fatling is actually used
Chiefly archaic, literary, or deliberately comic. It often carries a disparaging or teasing implication of excessive eating, pampering, or corpulence; in modern context it can sound blunt or insulting rather than neutral.