Fosterlings

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A young animal or child raised by a person or family that is not their biological caregiver
2. a dependent infant or juvenile cared for in an adoptive or substitute role
3. individuals reared in a nurturing environment where care is provided by someone outside their immediate family

Etymology: "Fosterlings" is the plural of "fosterling," a noun whose roots reach back to Old English. Its base, "foster," comes from Old English "fōstor," meaning food or nourishment, and the word once carried the sense of feeding and rearing a child, which is why a foster parent is one who nourishes. The ending "-ling," an old Germanic suffix used to form nouns for a person or creature associated with something, was added to that base in Old English to make "fōstorling," a child raised by someone other than its parents. The word passed into Middle English as "fosterling," keeping that same meaning of a nursling or child brought up in another household. Its structure is plain: a root meaning to nourish, plus a diminutive-style ending that marks the one being nourished. The plural simply adds "-s" to make "fosterlings" for more than one such child.

Synonyms: ward, charge, dependent, foster child, adopted child