fosterage

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   the practice or process of raising another person's child as one's own, especially as a historical social custom

   The historian described fosterage as a way for neighboring clans to strengthen political bonds.

2. 2
   noun

   care, nurture, or upbringing supplied to a person or animal; rare

   She credited her aunt's patient fosterage with giving her confidence and discipline.

Formed from foster + -age. Foster descends from Old English fostor, 'food, nourishment, maintenance, or upbringing,' related to food. Fosterage therefore originally emphasized the sustained nurture and rearing of someone placed in another household.

Topics

External links

• Cambridge Dictionary
• Wiktionary
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