changeling

American  

[cheynj-ling] / ˈtʃeɪndʒ lɪŋ /

noun

1. a child surreptitiously or unintentionally substituted for another.

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

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

4. Archaic.

   1. a renegade or turncoat.

   2. an imbecile.

---

changeling British  

/ ˈtʃeɪndʒlɪŋ /

noun

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

2. archaic

   1. an idiot

   2. a fickle or changeable person

---

Etymology

Origin of changeling

First recorded in 1545–55; change + -ling ¹

Example Sentences

That metaphor of the outcast changeling, rejected for who she is at her core by a rigid society, earned a loyal following — and accolades, including an Eisner Award and a National Book Award nomination.

From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 15, 2023

Fittingly, the series is a kind of changeling itself: a pale echo of the 2017 novel by Victor LaValle on which it is based.

From New York Times • Sep. 15, 2023

A New York Times review of the film said Oberon had "perfectly caught the restless, changeling spirit of the Brontë heroine".

From BBC • Apr. 15, 2022

I just wish it were enough that Bloom might be the first changeling at her school in ages; why does she also have to be the savior figure?

From Slate • Jan. 28, 2021

It was as if he were a changeling, a troubled child not so secretly adopted by the Icelanders, but with love and without foreboding.

From "Endgame" by Frank Brady

Related Words

• backup
• replacement
• stand-in
• surrogate