changeling

[ cheynj-ling ]

/ ˈtʃeɪndʒ lɪŋ /

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See synonyms for changeling on Thesaurus.com

noun

a child surreptitiously or unintentionally substituted for another.

(in folklore) an ugly, stupid, or strange child left by fairies in place of a pretty, charming child.

Philately. a postage stamp that, by accident or intention, has been chemically changed in color.

Archaic.

a renegade or turncoat.
an imbecile.

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Origin of changeling

First recorded in 1545–55; change + -ling¹

Words nearby changeling

changeful, change hands, change horses in midstream, don't, change key, changeless, changeling, changemaker, changement de pied, change off, change of heart, change of life

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use changeling in a sentence

This is more Changeling than Invictus, as far as director Eastwood is concerned.
'The Descendants,' 'The Muppets,' and Other Thanksgiving Movies to See or Skip|Marlow Stern|November 24, 2011|DAILY BEAST
To be fair, and slightly ashamed of myself, I did not watch Changeling.
If I Ran the Oscars|Jessi Klein|January 23, 2009|DAILY BEAST
Die foolish beoples in the island, they say she is a wechsel-balg—what you call a fairy-elf changeling.
Peveril of the Peak|Sir Walter Scott
One more story of a "changeling" before we leave the subject.
German Culture Past and Present|Ernest Belfort Bax

Everybody believed Ellis to have been a changeling, and one saying of his is well known in that part of the country.
The Science of Fairy Tales|Edwin Sidney Hartland
The same writer gives a similar account of the changeling mentioned above, p. 107.
The Science of Fairy Tales|Edwin Sidney Hartland
Thiele relates a story in which a wild stallion colt is brought in to smell two babes, one of which is a changeling.
The Science of Fairy Tales|Edwin Sidney Hartland

British Dictionary definitions for changeling

changeling

/ (ˈtʃeɪndʒlɪŋ) /

noun

a child believed to have been exchanged by fairies for the parents' true child

archaic

an idiot
a fickle or changeable person

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

changeling

Origin of changeling

Words nearby changeling

Words related to changeling

How to use changeling in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for changeling