▪ I. cling, v.1
(klɪŋ)
pa. tense and pa. pple. clung (klʌŋ). Forms: 1 cling-an, 2–5 cling-e(n, 4–5 clyng-e(n, -yn), 4–6 clinge, 4 clyng, 4– cling. pa. tense 1–5 (and in north. dial. 1–9) clang, (4 clange); pl. 1 clungon, 2–5 -e(n; sing. and pl. 4–6 clong, clonge, 6– clung. pa. pple. 1–5 clungen, (1 ᵹe-, 3–4 i-, 4–5 -yn, -un), 4–5 clongen, -yn, -un, 4–6 clunge, clong, 6 cloung, 4– clung. weak pa. tense and pple. 7–8, dial. 9 clinged, -'d.
[OE. clingan, clang, clungen, str. vb., also in E.Fris. klingen and klinken (klunk, klunken), used precisely in our sense 2 (Doornkaat-Koolman II. 261). Cf. also dial. Ger. sich klinken to fasten oneself on, to cling to, Da. klynge sig to gather in clusters, crowd together; further MHG. klingen to climb, clamber (Grimm, s.v. klimmen 1168), and Sw. klänge to climb, klänge a tendril. These all point to a strong stem klink- varying with kling-, the former giving the causal derivative klankjan, OE. clęnc(e)an, clench, and the latter appearing in OE. cling-an. The original sense was evidently ‘to stick fast’, whence our early senses ‘stick together’, ‘shrink together’, and the later ‘stick or cleave to’. Cf. clench, clink v.2
For the double stem-form clink-, cling-, cf. the same under the echoic clink v.1; also OE. cringan, crinkan to cringe, scringan, scrinkan to shrink.
(In sense 8 cling may be a variant of clink v.2 Cf. also clinger 2, clinging 2.]
† 1. intr. To adhere together in a stiff or firm mass: said of the freezing or congealing of liquids, the hardening of clay by drought, etc. Obs.
| [a 800 Corpus Gloss. 1744 Rigentia, forclingendu.] a 1000 Andreas 1262 (Gr.) Clang wateres þrym ofer eastreamas, is brycᵹade blæce brimrade. a 1300 Cursor M. 4699 Þe erth it clang, for drught and hete. c 1300 K. Alis. 915 Theo sunne ariseth..Theo nessche clay hit makith clyng. Ibid. 2903 Mury hit is in sonne-risyng!.. Weyes fairith, the clayes clyng. c 1485 E.E. Misc. (Warton Club) 8, I clynge as dothe a whettyne cake. |
† b. Often in pa. pple. (cf. sunk, fallen, etc.). Obs.
| 1382 Wyclif Job xxxviii. 38 Whanne was pouder held in the erthe, and clottis weren clunge togidere? 1387 Trevisa Higden (Rolls) I. 63 Idried and iclunge by hete of the sonne. a 1400 Leg. Rood (1871) 142 In cloddres of blod his her was clunge. 1490 in Anglia X. 372 The erthe þat is byfore clongen with þe colde froste of wynter. 1577 B. Googe Heresbach's Husb. ii. (1586) 110 b, A hard knoppe of flesh being clong and rolled up in it selfe. |
c. A relic of this survives in cling together, which however passes into later senses.
| 1577 B. Googe Heresbach's Husb. iii. (1586) 156 b, His bodie is leane, and more clong together then it was woont to bee. 1607 Topsell Four-f. Beasts (1673) 276 Driving the Horse into a sweat..whereby his lips are clung together. 1774 Goldsm. Nat. Hist. (1776) VI. 64 Like bunches of grapes, clung to each other. 1860 Tyndall Glac. i. §11. 84 When I endeavoured to squeeze it [snow]..it at first refused to cling together. |
2. Applied to the drawing together or shrinking and shrivelling up of animal or vegetable tissues, when they lose their juices under the influence of heat, cold, hunger, thirst, disease, age; to become ‘drawn’, to shrink up, wither, decay. Obs. exc. dial. a. of the living human body.
| c 1000 ælfric Gram. xxxv. (Z.) 212 Marceo, ic clinge, marcesco. a 1250 Owl & Night. 743 Nu þu miht ule sitte and clinge. c 1305 Pilate 222 in E.E.P. (1862) 117 Nou ic her clynge awei. 1340 Hampole Pr. Consc. 823 His fete waxes calde, his bely clynges. 1377 Langl. P. Pl. B. xiv. 50 Whan þow clomsest for colde or clyngest for drye. c 1380 Sir Ferumb. 2524 For betere is ous forto die amonges our fos in fiȝte, þan her-inne clynge & drie & daye for hunger riȝte. a 1400 Cov. Myst. 54 (Mätz.) My hert doth clynge and cleve as clay. 1414 Brampton Penit. Ps. lxxvii. (1842) 29 My bonys..clynge, and waxe alle drye. |
† b. said of the dead body. (A favourite alliteration with clay and clod.) Obs.
| c 1325 E.E. Allit. P. A. 856 Oure corses in clottez clynge. c 1430 Hymns Virg. (1867) 85 In coold clay now schal y clinge. [See also e.] |
† c. of plants. Obs.
| a 1300 Cursor M. 8764 Þis tre bigan to cling. |
d. of timber or wood-work. Still in north. dial.
| 1747 R. Maxwell Bee-master 20 (Jam.) Some make covers like barrels, with iron-hoops around them: These covers cling, as we say, with the summer's drought, then they drive the hoops strait, which makes them tight again. 1880 Antrim & Down Gloss. (E.D.S.), Cling, to shrink or contract, as wood in drying. |
e. In all these uses the pa. pple. clungen, clung, was esp. frequent; it belonged orig. to the intr. sense, but it probably suggested the operation of an agent, and led the way to the later trans. construction (3). Cf. clung ppl. a.
| a 1000 Sal. & Sat. 304 (Gr.) Beoð cealde ᵹeclungene. a 1300 Cursor M. 20747 His arms war al clungen dri. 1414 Brampton Penit. Ps. App. (1842) 52 That I be nouȝt in clottess clunge. c 1450 Erle Tolous 494 Methynkyth thou fadyste all away, As man that ys clongyn in clay. |
3. trans. † a. (from 1) To press together, compress. Obs.
| 1601 Holland Pliny I. 87 The Ocean of one coast, the Iberian sea on the other, do cling and press the sides [of Spain] together. |
b. To cause to adhere, attach, stick together. Still dial.
| 1627 Bp. Hall Art. Div. Medit. vi, So are wee, when our thoughts are clinged together by the world. 1698 Tyson in Phil. Trans. XX. 120, I could observe them matted or cling'd together by a Yellowish Substance. 1805 Southey Madoc in Azt. xii, His untrimm'd hair..With cotton cords intwisted, clung with gum. 1888 W. Somerset Word-bk., Cling, to stick together as with gum; to cause to adhere. |
c. (from 2) To cause (the body, etc.) to shrink or draw together; to contract, shrivel, parch.
| 1540 Surrey Poems, Ecclesiastes v. (L.), Clings not his guts with niggish fare, To keep his chest withall. 1605 Shakes. Macb. v. v. 40 If thou speak'st false, Vpon the next Tree shall thou hang aliue Till Famine cling thee. 1816 Byron Darkness 50 Kept..famished men at bay Till hunger clung them. |
4. intr. To adhere or stick to (some part, e.g. as skin or dried flesh to bone), as the result or accompaniment of shrivelling and contraction. (Also in pa. pple.)
| a 1300 Cursor M. 4569 Þair hidd was clongun [Gött. clungen] to þe ban, Sua lene sagh i neuer nan. c 1325 Metr. Hom. (1862) 88 His skin was klungen to the bane, For fleische upon him was thar nane. 1610 Markham Masterp. i. lviii. 124 His belly will be clung vp to his backe, and his backe rising vp like a Camell. 1667 Milton P.L. x. 512 His Armes clung to his Ribs..till down he fell A monstrous Serpent on his Belly prone. |
5. intr. To adhere, stick fast, attach oneself firmly to, as by a glutinous surface, or by grasping with prehensile organs. (Now the leading sense.)
| a 1300 Cursor M. 5955 (Cott.) Hungre flees, sare bitand, þat bath þai clang on man and best. Ibid. 24204 Care clinges in mi hert cald. 1570 Levins Manip. 135/35 To cling, clingere. 1583 Stanyhurst æneis ii. (Arb.) 60 Lyke dooues in tempest clinging fast closlye togeather. 1770 Goldsm. Des. Vill. 350 Silent bats in drowsy clusters cling. 1789 Wordsw. Evening Walk 60 Inverted shrubs, and moss of gloomy green, Cling from the rocks. 1856 Kane Arct. Expl. I. xxxii. 449 The broken ice clung to the rocks. 1871 Smiles Boy's Voy. Round World xiv. (1875) 141 The quicksilver clings to the gold and forms an amalgam with it. |
b. said of human beings with their arms.
| 1605 Shakes. Macb. i. ii. 8 As two spent Swimmers, that doe cling together, And choake their Art. 1615 Chapman Odyss. x. (R.), All knew me; cling'd about me. 1759 Johnson Rasselas xxxvii. Wks. XI. 104 My maids clung round me and refused to be parted. 1817 Coleridge Three Graves xli, Dear Ellen did not weep at all, But closelier did she cling. 1839 Thirlwall Greece VIII. 87 He was despatched as he clung to an altar. 1842 Tennyson Dora 162. |
c. of a garment, esp. when wet.
| a 1792 Sir J. Reynolds Art Painting Note 30 (R.) The disposing of the drapery, so as to appear to cling close round the limbs. 1814 Cary Dante's Inf. xxiii. 43 A single vest Clings round her limbs. 1883 Lloyd Ebb & Flow II. 256 His fisher's coat dripping wet and clinging to his form. |
d. transf. To be or remain close to, as if attached.
| 1842 Browning In a Gondola 4 The very night is clinging Closer to Venice' streets. 1860 Tyndall Glac. i. §18. 122 Some heavy clouds..clung to the mountains. 1865 Dickens Mut. Fr. iii. ii, The fog clings so. 1878 R. B. Smith Carthage 239 [Thus] did Fabius follow his foe from place to place, always clinging to the hills. |
6. fig. To adhere or cleave to, in attachment, fellowship, sympathy, practice, or idea.
| 1583 Stanyhurst æneis iii. (Arb.) 72 Hee leaues thee conquourd, and clingd to the partye triumphant. 1631 Gouge God's Arrows iii. §6. 195 The more fiercely Christians are assaulted, the more closely they will cling together. 1816 J. Wilson City of Plague ii. ii. 28 Now your orphan hearts Will closer cling in your calamity. 1846 M{supc}Culloch Acc. Brit. Empire (1854) I. 537 The possession of land is in Ireland..the sine quâ non of existence. It is, therefore, clung to with desperate tenacity. 1848 Macaulay Hist. Eng. I. 108 They still..clung to the doctrine of non-resistance. |
b. of things, habits, practices.
| 1680 Rochester Poems, Alexis & Strephon (R.), As trees are by the bark embrac'd, Love to my soul doth cling. 1823 Lamb Elia Ser. ii. vii. (1865) 276 Old attachments cling to her in spite of experience. 1870 E. Peacock Ralf Skirl. III. 119 Their phrases..clung to his memory. |
7. trans. (ellipt.) To cling to, clasp, embrace.
| 1607 Tourneur Rev. Trag. i. iii, To slide from the mother..and cling the daughter in law. 1638 Heywood Rape Lucr. Wks. 1874 V. 194 Temptations offered, I still scorne. Deny'd; I cling them still. |
† 8. To cause to cling, make fast, fasten. Obs. (Perh. a by-form of clinch or clink.)
| 1583 Stanyhurst æneis ii. (Arb.) 58 They clinge thee scalings too wals [hærent parietibus scalæ]. 17.. Swift Exam. Abuses in Dublin (Seager), I clung my legs as close to his sides as I could. 1738 G. Smith Curious Relat. II. v. 153 Unmercifully clinging their Hands in a split Block. Ibid. 412 The People cling'd their Fingers of both their Hands between one another, holding the two Thumbs..close together. a 1774 Goldsm. tr. Scarron's Comic Rom. (1775) I. 225 This made Ragotin cling his legs still more close to the horse's sides. |
9. Of doubtful meaning and position: ? To press, stick in; or possibly = clink v.1 7 b.
| ? a 1400 Morte Arth. 1865 Sir Clegis clynges in, and clekes another. |
10. The vbl. stem used attrib., as cling film, plastic film so thin that it attaches readily to an object about which it is wrapped, sold commercially to cover and preserve food, etc.
| 1975 Food Manufacture Nov. 74/1 British Cellophane Ltd. announce the introduction of a polyethylene cling film for fresh food wrapping—BCL *Cling Film 301. 1983 Daily Tel. 9 Aug. 11/1 Kitchen cling film was used to cover aircraft cockpit instruments and control panels because for long periods there was 100 per cent. relative humidity in the atmosphere. |
▪ II. † cling, v.2 Obs. rare.
By-form of clink v.1
| c 1440 Promp. Parv. 81 Clepyng or clyngynge of a bell. 1499 H., Clinkinge tintillacio. |
▪ III. cling, n.1
(klɪŋ)
[f. prec. vb.]
1. The act of clinging; adherence, adhesion.
| 1641 Milton Animadv. Pref., Out of a more tenacious cling to worldly respects. 1870 Lowell Study Wind. 166 The anchored cling to solid principles of duty and action. |
† 2. A clasp, embrace. Obs.
| 1633 P. Fletcher Purple Isl. i. xlix, Bacchus unborn lay hidden in the cling Of big-swoln grapes. ― Poems 254 (N.) Fast clasp'd by th' arched zodiack of her arms, Those closer clings of love. |
3. Contraction of wood with drought.
| 1664 E. Bushnell Compl. Shipwright 13 So there be no Clings in the Buldge. |
4. A disease of cattle: a. A hidebound condition. b. A diarrhœa which makes sheep ‘clung’ or wasted.
| c 1800 in A. Young Ann. Agric. XXX. 297 The cling..is supposed to be occasioned by an adhesion of the lights to the sides, and the cattle are frequently hidebound with it. 1802 Agric. Surv. Peebles 401 (Jam.) Diarrhœa, or cling, or breakshaw. 1808 J. Walker Nat. Hist. & Rur. Econ. 525 (Jam.) Ovis morbo, the cling dicto, correpta..confestim extenuata, morte occumbit. |
5. Short for clingstone. Also attrib. in cling peach.
| 1845 A. J. Downing Fruits Amer. 494 The Catherine cling is a very fine, old English variety. 1869 Trans. Ill. Agric. Soc. 1867–8 VII. 510 We have a late, large peach which we call the Allman Cling. Ibid., It is sometimes called the Heath Cling, which it resembles. 1872 San Francisco Weekly Bulletin 27 Sept. (Hoppe), Cling peaches are moderately plentiful. 1913 G. S. Porter Laddie iii. 92 One [peach] was a white cling, one was a yellow. Ibid. iv. 126, I led her straight to our best cling peach tree. 1968 Publ. Amer. Dial. Soc. XLIX. 16 Another reason for vocabulary change is the widespread use of commercial terms... These include..cling peach for cling-stone peach. |
▪ IV. cling, n.2
(klɪŋ)
[A word having the same relation to clink, as clang to clank.]
Ringing. Also cling-clang.
| 1578 Sc. Poems 16th C. II. 189 Gif yee will give them caip and bell The cling thereof they will yow sell. 1886 W. J. Tucker E. Europe 182 With martial strides, and a cling, cling, cling of spurs. 1902 E. Nesbit Five Children & It vii. 186 The children could hear the cling-clang of armour. 1926 [see bing-bang (bing n.3 and int.)]. |