DictionaryRoot: -ling

Middle English

-ling

little one

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A concerned caregiver discovers a bundled infant in a basket at a doorway and gently lifts the baby to safety; no parents present, no written note or melodramatic suffering.

noun

foundling

FOUND-ling/ˈfaʊndlɪŋ/

An abandoned infant found and cared for by others.

Etymology

foundMiddle Englishto find

+lingMiddle Englishlittle one

A foundling is literally a little one who has been found. The name describes an abandoned infant through discovery rather than known parentage.

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