[ling-ger] 
| 1. | to remain or stay on in a place longer than is usual or expected, as if from reluctance to leave: We lingered awhile after the party. |
| 2. | to remain alive; continue or persist, although gradually dying, ceasing, disappearing, etc.: She lingered a few months after the heart attack. Such practices still linger among the older natives. |
| 3. | to dwell in contemplation, thought, or enjoyment: to linger over the beauty of a painting. |
| 4. | to be tardy in action; delay; dawdle: to linger in discharging one's duties. |
| 5. | to walk slowly; saunter along. |
| 6. | to pass (time, life, etc.) in a leisurely or a tedious manner (usually fol. by away or out): We lingered away the whole summer at the beach. |
| 7. | Archaic. to draw out or protract. |
| lin·ger (lĭng'gər) v. lin·gered, lin·ger·ing, lin·gers v. intr.
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.] lin'ger·er n., lin'ger·ing·ly adv. |
gər
