foundling

American  

[found-ling] / ˈfaʊnd lɪŋ /

noun

1. an infant or small child found abandoned; a child without a known parent or guardian.

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foundling British  

/ ˈfaʊndlɪŋ /

noun

1. an abandoned infant whose parents are not known

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Etymology

Origin of foundling

First recorded in 1250–1300, foundling is from the Middle English word found(e)ling. See found ², -ling ¹

Explanation

A foundling is a child who's been abandoned by their parents. You might also call a foundling a "waif" — and no matter what word you use, your heart will hurt for them. While a foundling is sometimes an orphan, someone whose parents have died, foundlings are often babies whose parents aren't able to care for them. In cases like this, parents sometimes abandon their babies in safe places like hospitals or churches. Many characters in literature are foundlings, from Oedipus to Superman. Moses is another famous foundling. The word shares a root with found, as in a "found child."

Example Sentences

He's still raising a Force-wielding foundling on “The Mandalorian” for however long Disney+ keeps that title character alive and little Grogu dependent on him.

From Salon • Apr. 21, 2025

In his many and widely read novels, Dickens sympathetically depicted the hardscrabble lives of poor, working-class, and middle-class urban dwellers, setting scenes in foundling homes, prisons, impoverished neighborhoods, and dark city streets.

From Textbooks • Dec. 14, 2022

An inconvenience to her selfish parents, Fox was dumped in a Manhattan foundling home right after her birth in 1923.

From New York Times • Jul. 13, 2022

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.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 9, 2021

Lazlo was a boy no longer, no trace remaining—outwardly—of the small bald foundling with cuts on his head.

From "Strange the Dreamer" by Laini Taylor