/ məˈlɪŋgə(r); NAmE / verb
[ v ] (usually be malingering ) ( disapproving ) to pretend to be ill / sick, especially in order to avoid work
► ma·lin·ger·er noun
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WORD ORIGIN
early 19th cent.: back-formation from malingerer , apparently from French malingre , perhaps formed as mal- wrongly + haingre weak, probably of Germanic origin.