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

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 a logging camp in 1934 New Brunswick, newborn Pearly is raised alongside Bruno, a foundling bear cub given to her father.

From Los Angeles Times • Sep. 3, 2024

The back is inscribed, in Dutch, “My burden is heavy, goodbye my dear Femke, Born 1st September 1795,” by a mother who, two centuries, ago abandoned her baby as a foundling.

From New York Times • Mar. 10, 2023

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

Of course he wasn’t a foundling or a millionaire, but it was the same basic concept.

From "The Dead and the Gone" by Susan Beth Pfeffer