Where does “tenderling” come from?

tenderling (English) comes from English tender, from English tend, from Middle English tenden, from Middle English attenden, from Old French atendre, from Latin attendō, from Latin ad-, from Latin īn- — in.

tenderling (English): One made tender by too much kindness; a fondling;...

Definitions

  1. One made tender by too much kindness; a fondling;...

Ancestry of “tenderling”, step by step

tenderling traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via English tender

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishtenderSensitive or painful to the touch; Easily bruised...
2EnglishtendTo make a tender of; to offer or tender; To be...
3Middle EnglishtendenTo ignite; to light or set on fire
4Middle Englishattendento attend
5Old Frenchatendreto wait
6Latinattendōto pay attention, attend (to), direct the attention towards
7Latinad-to; usually prefixed to verbs, in which cases it...
8Latinīn-un-, non-, not
9Latinînin, at, on, upon, from (space)
10Latinenlookǃ beholdǃ; reallyǃ?; come onǃ
11Proto-Italicenin
12Proto-Indo-Europeanh₁énin

via English Ling

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishLingAny of various codlike saltwater fish often used as food by humans, those of the genus Molva, in the family Lotidae
2Middle EnglishlingAny of various varieties of heather or broom
3Old Norselyngheather, ling
4Proto-Germaniclingwąheather, ling
5Proto-Indo-Europeanlengʷʰom
6Proto-Indo-Europeanlengʷʰ-light, agile, nimble; light, not heavy, agile,...
Every word from Proto-Indo-European h₁énEvery word from Latin īn-Every word from Latin ad-