changeling


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change·ling

 (chānj′lĭng)
n.
1. A child secretly exchanged for another.
2. In European folklore, a fairy child left in place of a stolen human child.
3. Archaic A changeable, fickle person.
4. Obsolete A person of deficient intelligence.
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

changeling

(ˈtʃeɪndʒlɪŋ)
n
1. (European Myth & Legend) a child believed to have been exchanged by fairies for the parents' true child
2. archaic
a. an idiot
b. a fickle or changeable person
Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

change•ling

(ˈtʃeɪndʒ lɪŋ)

n.
1. an infant exchanged by stealth for another child.
2. Archaic.
a. a turncoat.
b. an imbecile.
[1545–55]
Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.
ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:
Noun1.changeling - a person of subnormal intelligencechangeling - a person of subnormal intelligence  
simpleton, simple - a person lacking intelligence or common sense
2.changeling - a child secretly exchanged for another in infancy
child, kid, minor, nipper, tiddler, youngster, tike, shaver, small fry, nestling, fry, tyke - a young person of either sex; "she writes books for children"; "they're just kids"; "`tiddler' is a British term for youngster"
Based on WordNet 3.0, Farlex clipart collection. © 2003-2012 Princeton University, Farlex Inc.
Translations
طِفْلٌ مَبْدولٌ
podvržené dítě
forbyttet barn
elcserélt gyermek
umskiptingur
laumukas
laumu atstāts bērns
podvrhnuté dieťa

changeling

n (= child)Wechselbalg m
Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

changeling

(ˈtʃeindʒliŋ) noun
a child secretly left in place of another by the fairies etc.
Kernerman English Multilingual Dictionary © 2006-2013 K Dictionaries Ltd.
References in classic literature ?
Then Rebecca had gone away, and in the long months of absence her mind and soul had grown out of her mother's knowledge, so that now, when Aurelia had time and strength to study her child, she was like some enchanting changeling. Aurelia and Hannah had gone on in the dull round and the common task, growing duller and duller; but now, on a certain stage of life's journey, who should appear but this bewildering being, who gave wings to thoughts that had only crept before; who brought color and grace and harmony into the dun brown texture of existence.
"It is a changeling who will lay ill-luck at our doors."
And that minx, Catherine Linton, or Earnshaw, or however she was called - she must have been a changeling - wicked little soul!
He had no mother - no anything in the way of a relative, that I could discover, except a sister, who fled to America the moment we had taken him off her hands; and he became quartered on us like a horrible young changeling. He had a lively perception of his own unfortunate state, and was always rubbing his eyes with the sleeve of his jacket, or stooping to blow his nose on the extreme corner of a little pocket-handkerchief, which he never would take completely out of his pocket, but always economized and secreted.
And this changeling called herself by the same name as the many-coloured, clinging maid of yore; she of the frequent laughter, and the many sighs, and the kind, stolen glances.
Accordingly they betake themselves to a neighbouring dining-house, of the class known among its frequenters by the denomination slap- bang, where the waitress, a bouncing young female of forty, is supposed to have made some impression on the susceptible Smallweed, of whom it may be remarked that he is a weird changeling to whom years are nothing.
He continued to send for me punctually the moment the clock struck seven; though when I appeared before him now, he had no such honeyed terms as "love" and "darling" on his lips: the best words at my service were "provoking puppet," "malicious elf," "sprite," "changeling," &c.
This book consists of eight chapters that introduce Thomas Middleton and William Rowley's The Changeling and its critical and performance contexts.
Changeling - Matt Wesolowski, Orenda - out now IF you're one of the millions who enjoy true crime podcasts, you'll be hooked immediately by this spooky story, which takes an ingenious spin on that modern format.
This new psychological thriller is a modern reimagining of a changeling story, with consequences that touch both the magical world and our own.
Another Universal MENA artist, UAE-based Irish producer Shaun Warner, has released a new single, "Changeling." It's Warner's first release of 2019, after a hugely successful year that saw his songs breaking into the US Billboard Charts and receiving international airplay.
"The Changeling's Daughter" is the story of a girl who finds out she's supposed to be the villain, but decides to be the hero anyway!