foster

Meanings

1. 1
   verb

   To encourage the development or growth of something.

   Our company fosters an appreciation for the arts.

2. 2
   verb

   To take care of a child as a parent for a time, without being its legal parent.

   They decided to foster a child while waiting to adopt.

3. 3
   adj

   Giving or receiving parental care without being related by blood.

   His foster parents raised him from the age of five.

From Middle English foster, from Old English fōstor (“food, sustenance”), from Proto-West Germanic *fōstr, from Proto-Germanic *fōstrą (“nourishment, food”). Cognate with Middle Dutch voester (“nursemaid”), Middle Low German vôster (“food”), Old Norse fóstr (“nurturing, education, alimony, child support”), Danish foster (“fetus”), Swedish foster (“fetus”).

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