The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:

Lingering \Lin"ger*ing\, a.
   1. Delaying.
      [1913 Webster]

   2. Drawn out in time; remaining long; protracted; as, a
      lingering disease.
      [1913 Webster]

            To die is the fate of man; but to die with lingering
            anguish is generally his folly.       --Rambler.
      [1913 Webster]

The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:

Linger \Lin"ger\ (l[i^][ng]"g[~e]r), v. i. [imp. & p. p.
   Lingered (l[i^][ng]"g[~e]rd); p. pr. & vb. n. Lingering.]
   [OE. lengen to tarry, AS. lengan to prolong, put off, fr.
   lang long. [root]125. See Long, a.]
   To delay; to loiter; to remain or wait long; to be slow or
   reluctant in parting or moving; to be slow in deciding; to be
   in suspense; to hesitate.
   [1913 Webster]

         Nor cast one longing, lingering look behind. --Gray.
   [1913 Webster]

         Perhaps thou linger'st, in deep thoughts detained.
                                                  --Milton.

   Syn: To loiter; lag; saunter; delay; tarry; stop; hesitate.
        [1913 Webster]

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006):

lingering
    n 1: the act of tarrying [syn: tarriance, lingering]

Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0:

84 Moby Thesaurus words for "lingering":
   Micawberish, backward, booming, continuation, dalliance, dallying,
   dawdling, delaying, dilatoriness, dilatory, dillydallying,
   dolce far niente, dragging, drawn-out, easygoing, echoic, echoing,
   extended, extension, foot-dragging, goofing off, gradual, growling,
   idling, interminable, lackadaisical, lag, laggard, lagging,
   languishing, lasting, lax, lazing, lazy, lengthened, lengthening,
   loafing, loitering, lolling, lollygagging, long, long-continuing,
   long-drawn, long-drawn-out, long-pending, long-winded, lounging,
   marathon, mopery, overlong, persistent, procrastinating,
   procrastination, procrastinative, procrastinatory, prolongation,
   prolonged, protracted, protraction, reboant, rebounding, reechoing,
   remaining, remiss, repercussive, resounding, reverberant,
   reverberating, reverberatory, rumbling, shilly-shallying,
   shuffling, slack, slow, sluggish, sounding, spun-out,
   stretched-out, tarriance, tarrying, thundering, trifling, undamped,
   waiting