changeling
pronunciation
How to pronounce changeling in British English:
UK [ˈtʃeɪndʒlɪŋ]
How to pronounce changeling in American English:
US [ˈtʃendʒlɪŋ]
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- Noun:
- a person of subnormal intelligence
- a child secretly exchanged for another in infancy
Word Origin
- changeling (n.)
- 1550s, "one given to change," from change (n.) + diminutive suffix -ling. Meaning "person or thing left in place of one secretly taken" is from 1560s; specific reference to an infant or young child (usually stupid or ugly) supposedly left by the faeries in place of one they took is from 1580s. An earlier word for it was oaf or auf.
Example
- 1. This is true in the tales about the changeling .
- 2. The changeling opens in australia in february .
- 3. Our changeling spies followed him and raised the alarm , and I transformed myself into his perfect facsimile .
- 4. They are called cherubs by the rest of changeling society .
- 5. Changeling : indoor cyclists loving the spin class they 're in .