Ætheling (also spelt Aetheling, Atheling or Etheling) was an Old English term (æþeling) used in Anglo-Saxon England to designate princes of the royal dynasty who were eligible for the kingship. The term is an Old English and Old Saxon compound of aethele, æþele or (a)ethel, meaning "noble family", and -ing, which means "belonging to", It derives from the Germanic word Edeling or Edling and is etymologically related to the modern German words Adel, "nobility", and adelig or adlig, "noble". It was usually rendered in Latin as clito.

Ætheling (also spelt Aetheling, Atheling or Etheling) was an Old English term (æþeling) used in Anglo-Saxon England to designate princes of the royal dynasty who were eligible for the kingship. The term is an Old English and Old Saxon compound of aethele, æþele or (a)ethel, meaning "noble family", and -ing, which means "belonging to", It derives from the Germanic word Edeling or Edling and is etymologically related to the modern German words Adel, "nobility", and adelig or adlig, "noble". It was usually rendered in Latin as clito.