changeling

noun/ˈtʃeɪndʒlɪŋ/

Frequency rank: #18,960 of 20,003 in the WORDED list (wordfreq data)

Meaning

A child secretly exchanged for another, especially a fairy child left in place of a stolen human baby in folklore.

Illustration for the English word “changeling”

Example sentence

The old folktale warned that fairies might leave a strange changeling in place of a stolen human child.

Synonyms & related words

More words in ranks 18,901–19,000