† thoughtlingn.
Obsolete.
1. = thoughtlet n.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > thought > product of thinking, thought > [noun] > a thought, thoughts > insignificant
thoughtlingc1811
thoughtlet1820
thoughtkina1871
c1811 B. N. Turner Anecdotes (1982) p. xxviii Thoughtlings. from the Amusements of Scribblethorpe Hall.
1876 R. Browning Pacchiarotto & Other Poems 238 Nay, thoughtlings they themselves: Loves, hates—in little and less and least! Thoughts? ‘What is a man beside a mount!’
1881 E. Johnson in Browning Soc. Papers 1 iii. 371 This is the kind of thoughtling we have all had in our time beneath the shadow of the Matterhorn, unaware how childish it was till our Mentor came by.
2. A sign of thinking, a thought-line. rare.
ΚΠ
1851 J. P. Kennedy Swallow Barn (rev. ed.) x. 88 A little nest of thoughtlings about the eyes.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, September 2009; most recently modified version published online December 2019).
<
n.c1811