Foundling (Noun)
Meaning
A child who has been abandoned and whose parents are unknown.
Classification
Nouns denoting people.
Examples
- The small child was left on the church doorstep, a helpless foundling with no identity or known relatives.
- In Victorian England, many foundlings were raised in orphanages and struggled to learn about their true origins.
- After days of searching, the authorities still had no leads on the identity of the foundling left in the abandoned car.
- As a young woman, Emily learned she was a foundling, a shocking revelation that forced her to reexamine her sense of self.
- In ancient Greece, exposure was a common fate for unwanted babies, many of whom survived to grow up as foundlings with unknown heritage.