foundling C2 Topic:Family & Relationships US /ˈfaʊndlɪŋ/ UK /ˈfaʊndlɪŋ/ See IPA manual Freq #39904 Meanings 1 noun an abandoned infant or child whose parents are unknown The eighteenth-century hospital was established to shelter foundlings and other abandoned children. Thesaurus Synonyms 1 noun · an abandoned infant or... abandoned childwaif Word family Forms foundlings Related forms orphanfoundling hospitalabandonment Common collocations foundling hospital Noun + noun Etymology From Middle English fyndling and foundling, formed from find or found + the noun-forming suffix -ling: literally, a child who has been found after being abandoned. Topics Family & Relationships External links Cambridge Dictionary Wiktionary Google Images # foundling **Type:** Word **Level:** C2 **Part of speech:** noun **IPA (US):** /ˈfaʊndlɪŋ/ **IPA (UK):** /ˈfaʊndlɪŋ/ **Frequency rank:** 39904 ## Meanings 1. an abandoned infant or child whose parents are unknown ## Examples - The eighteenth-century hospital was established to shelter foundlings and other abandoned children. ## Synonyms - abandoned child - waif ## Related Forms - orphan - foundling hospital - abandonment ## Etymology From Middle English fyndling and foundling, formed from find or found + the noun-forming suffix -ling: literally, a child who has been found after being abandoned. ## Topics - Family & Relationships markdown