noun · 2 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot
Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.
Sound
Pronunciation
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CMU ARPABET:F AW1 N D L IH0 NG
Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.
1
noun
Meaning 1
An abandoned child, left by its parent(s), often a baby left at a convent or similar safe place.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Examples
foundling hospital
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
2
noun
Meaning 2
a child who has been abandoned and whose parents are unknown
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: abandoned infant
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: baby, babe, infant
History
Etymology
From Middle English foundlyng, fondeyng, variants of Middle English fyndling, fyndlyng. By surface analysis, found + -ling.
Across languages
Translations
44 source translations are retained for this English entry.
Arabic:
لَقِيط
(laqīṭ)
— abandoned child, left by its parent
Arabic:
مَلْقُوط
(malqūṭ)
— abandoned child, left by its parent
Arabic:
لقيط
(laqīṭ)
— abandoned child, left by its parent
Armenian:
ընկեցիկ
(ənkecʻik)
— abandoned child, left by its parent
Azerbaijani:
tapdıq
— abandoned child, left by its parent
Bulgarian:
подхвърлено дете
(podhvǎrleno dete)
— abandoned child, left by its parent
Czech:
nalezenec
— abandoned child, left by its parent
Danish:
hittebarn
— abandoned child, left by its parent
Dutch:
vondeling
— abandoned child, left by its parent
Finnish:
löytölapsi
— abandoned child, left by its parent
French:
enfant trouvé
— abandoned child, left by its parent
Galician:
achadizo
— abandoned child, left by its parent
Galician:
expósito
— abandoned child, left by its parent
German:
Findelkind
— abandoned child, left by its parent
Greek:
έκθετο
(éktheto)
— abandoned child, left by its parent
Hungarian:
lelenc
— abandoned child, left by its parent
Hungarian:
talált gyermek
— abandoned child, left by its parent
Italian:
trovatello
— abandoned child, left by its parent
Macedonian:
најденче
(najdenče)
— abandoned child, left by its parent
Norwegian Nynorsk:
funnebarn
— abandoned child, left by its parent
Norwegian Nynorsk:
finning
— abandoned child, left by its parent
Polish:
znajda
— abandoned child, left by its parent
Portuguese:
exposto
— abandoned child, left by its parent
Portuguese:
abandonado
— abandoned child, left by its parent
Portuguese:
enjeitado
— abandoned child, left by its parent
Russian:
найдёныш
(najdjónyš)
— abandoned child, left by its parent
Russian:
подки́дыш
(podkídyš)
— abandoned child, left by its parent
Serbo-Croatian:
на̀хоче
— abandoned child, left by its parent
Serbo-Croatian:
на̀ход
— abandoned child, left by its parent
Serbo-Croatian:
находник
— abandoned child, left by its parent
Serbo-Croatian:
нахоткиња
— abandoned child, left by its parent
Serbo-Croatian:
nàhoče
— abandoned child, left by its parent
Serbo-Croatian:
nàhod
— abandoned child, left by its parent
Serbo-Croatian:
nahodnik
— abandoned child, left by its parent
Serbo-Croatian:
nahotkinja
— abandoned child, left by its parent
Slovak:
nájdenec
— abandoned child, left by its parent
Spanish:
expósito
— abandoned child, left by its parent
Swedish:
hittebarn
— abandoned child, left by its parent
Ottoman Turkish:
بولنمش چوجق
(bulunmuş çocuk)
— abandoned child, left by its parent
Ottoman Turkish:
متروك چوجق
(metruk çocuk)
— abandoned child, left by its parent
Ottoman Turkish:
لقیطه
(lakita)
— abandoned child, left by its parent
Ukrainian:
знaйдa
(znajda)
— abandoned child, left by its parent
Vietnamese:
trẻ em bị bỏ rơi
— abandoned child, left by its parent
Welsh:
plentyn cael
— abandoned child, left by its parent