a calf, lamb, kid, or young pig fattened for slaughter
Word origin
fat + -ling1
fatling in American English
(ˈfætlɪŋ)
noun
a young animal, as a calf or a lamb, fattened for slaughter
Word origin
[1520–30; fat + -ling1]This word is first recorded in the period 1520–30. Other words that entered Englishat around the same time include: accent, lapse, phrase, ribbon, ticket-ling is a suffix of nouns, often pejorative, denoting one concerned with (hireling; underling), or diminutive (princeling; duckling)