foundling

noun

found·​ling ˈfau̇n(d)-liŋ How to pronounce foundling (audio)
: an infant found after its unknown parents have abandoned it

Examples of foundling in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web The tiny foundling — so small the women could scoop it up by hand — means that there is at least one breeding pair in the area. Freda Kreier, New York Times, 24 Oct. 2023 The mission even concludes with Bo bringing back the three dragon babies, in the hopes of perhaps training them to be foundlings as well. Alan Sepinwall, Rolling Stone, 22 Mar. 2023 Mando believes that this is Grogu's right as a foundling of Mandalore. Evan Romano, Men's Health, 28 Feb. 2023 Mando leaves—with the Darksaber and a new piece of Beskar armor for his foundling, Grogu. Evan Romano, Men's Health, 26 Jan. 2022 As a quick refresher: Boba Fett is a clone of Jango Fett, a Mandalorian foundling and bounty hunter who was used to make the Republic's army of clone stormtroopers on the rainy planet of Kamino. Brendan Morrow, The Week, 29 Dec. 2021 Clark, a foundling, born Kal-El, famous as Superman, has lost his memory more than once and regularly comes face to face with, and sometimes fist to fist with, perverse reflections or imitations of himself. Robert Lloyd, Los Angeles Times, 9 Mar. 2021 At the start of the poem, the narrator describes the career of Scyld Scefing, a foundling who establishes a kingdom in Denmark and is given a splendid burial at sea. Irina Dumitrescu, The New York Review of Books, 17 Nov. 2020 Joseph Svec, the foundling in question, never seems to have been very curious about his biological family. Jonathan M. Pitts, Washington Post, 10 Aug. 2020 See More

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'foundling.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Middle English fundelyng, foundlynge, from funde, founde, founden (past participle of finden "to find entry 1") + -lyng, -lynge -ling entry 1

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of foundling was in the 14th century

Dictionary Entries Near foundling

Cite this Entry

“Foundling.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/foundling. Accessed 3 Dec. 2023.

Kids Definition

foundling

noun
found·​ling ˈfau̇n-(d)liŋ How to pronounce foundling (audio)
: an infant found after being abandoned by unknown parents

Medical Definition

foundling

noun
found·​ling ˈfau̇n-(d)liŋ How to pronounce foundling (audio)
: an infant found after its unknown parents have abandoned it
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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