fosterage

[ faw-ster-ij, fos-ter- ]

noun

1. the act of fostering or rearing another's child as one's own.
2. the condition of being a foster child.
3. an act of promoting or encouraging:

   The board will undertake the fosterage of our new project.

fosterage

/ ˈfɒstərɪdʒ /

noun

1. the act of caring for or bringing up a foster child
2. the condition or state of being a foster child
3. the act of encouraging or promoting

Word History and Origins

Origin of fosterage¹

First recorded in 1605–15; foster + -age

Example Sentences

Some groups may have practiced “fosterage”: the exchange of children to cement alliances.

From The New Yorker

I was always a dependent thing, wanting fosterage and support.

From Project Gutenberg

Connected apparently with the tribal sentiment were the strange customs of fosterage and gossipred.

From Project Gutenberg

Conary would not condemn them to death, as the people begged him to do, but spared them for the sake of his kinship in fosterage.

From Project Gutenberg

A child in fosterage was reared and educated suitably for the position it was destined to fill in life.

From Project Gutenberg