changeling
Syllables: change·lingUK/ˈtʃeɪn(d)ʒlɪŋ//ˈt͡ʃeɪnd͡ʒlɪŋ/
changeling noun: in pre-modern European folklore: an infant of a magical creature that was secretly exchanged for a human infant. In British, Irish and Scandinavian mythology the exchanged infants were thought to be those of fairies, sprites or trolls; in other places, they were ascribed to demons, devils, or witches.
Noun
changeling (plural changelings)
- In pre-modern European folklore: an infant of a magical creature that was secretly exchanged for a human infant. In British, Irish and Scandinavian mythology the exchanged infants were thought to be those of fairies, sprites or trolls; in other places, they were ascribed to demons, devils, or witches.
- [S]he, as her attendant, hath / A louely boy ſtollen, from an Indian king: / She neuer had ſo ſweete a changeling.[c. 1595–1596 (date written), William Shakespeare, A Midsommer Nights Dreame. […] (First Quarto), London: […] [Richard Bradock] for Thomas Fisher, […], published 1600, →OCLC, [Act II, scene i]
- Every Lover admires his miſtris, though ſhee be very deformed of her ſelfe, […] her feet ſtinke, ſhee breed lice, a meere changeling, a very monſter, […]: if he loue her once, he admires her for all this, he takes no notice of any ſuch errors, or imperfections of body or minde.1638, Democritus Junior [pseudonym; Robert Burton], “Symptomes or Signes of Love Melancholy, in Body, Minde, Good, Bad, &c.”, in The Anatomy of Melancholy. […], 5th edition, Oxford, Oxfordshire: […]...
- A person or object (especially when regarded as inferior) secretly exchanged for something else.
- When I firſt read Mr. Walker’s Circular Letter to the Arch-deacons, I fancied he intended to give us an Account of thoſe worthy Men, […] But after about ten Years going with this Work, and that the Time of its Birth was come, I ſoon found it to be a perfect Changeling. Inſtead of what I expected it...1717, [John Lewis], A Few English Notes on a Late Sermon Preached before the Sons of the Clergy by Dr. [Thomas] Bisse, Intended to Vindicate the English Reformation from the Charge of Sacrilege...
- An infant secretly exchanged with another infant deliberately or by mistake; a swapling.
- An organism which can change shape to mimic others; a shape-shifter.
- Synonyms:
- shape-shifter, shapeshifter, shifter
- A person apt to change their loyalty or thinking; a waverer.
- To face the garment of rebellion / With ſome fine colour that may pleaſe the eye / Of fickle changlings and poore diſcontents, / Which gape and rub the elbow at the newes / Of hurly-burly innouation, […]c. 1597 (date written), [William Shakespeare], The History of Henrie the Fourth; […], quarto edition, London: […] P[eter] S[hort] for Andrew Wise, […], published 1598, →OCLC, [Act V, scene i]
- Fal[staff]. […] If you will lodge with me in Eaſtcheap, you ſhall ſee the thouſand pound fairly ſpent in ſack: you ſhall ſhare with me to the utmoſt farthing. But for dry reſtitution, I have not been accustom'd to it of many years. You would not have me a changeling at this time of day, I hope...1760, [William] Kenrick, Falstaff’s Wedding: A Comedy. […], London: […] J. Wilkie, […] , →OCLC, act II, scene vi, page 28
- An idiot, a simpleton.
- They alſo obſerue Lunaticks and changelings, and the Coniurer writeth downe their ſayings in a booke, groueling on the ground, as if he whiſperd to the Deuill to tell him the truth, and ſo expoundeth the letter, as it were by inſpiration.1622, John Rawlins, The Famovs and Wonderfvll Recoverie of a Ship of Bristoll, Called the Exchange, from the Turkish Pirates of Argier. […], London: […] [Eliot’s Court Press] for Nathaniel Butter...
- We wander in the Fields of Air below: / Changlings and Fooles of Heav'n: and thence ſhut out, / Wildly we roam in diſcontent about: […]1669 June (first performance), John Dryden, Tyrannick Love, or, The Royal Martyr. […], London: […] H[enry] Herringman, […], published 1670, →OCLC, Act IV, scene i, page 34
- Synonyms:
- addle-brain, addlehead, addle pate, airhead, baboon, beanbrain, beetlebrain, beetlehead, berk, bimbo
Adjective
changeling (comparative more changeling, superlative most changeling)
- Changeable, fickle, inconstant, wavering.
- Away thou changeling motley humouriſt, / Leave me, and in this ſtanding wooden cheſt, / Conſorted with theſe few books, let me lye / In priſon, and here be coffin'd, when I dye.1719, John Donne, “Satyre I”, in Poems on Several Occasions. […], London: […] Jacob Tonson, and sold by William Taylor […], →OCLC, page 107
- Synonyms:
- changeable, changeful, dynamic, everchanging, fickle, fluid, inconstant, labile, mobile, moody
changeling meaning in Arabic and Persian
changeling in Arabic
- infant of a magical creature secretly exchanged for a human infant
- خائن
changeling in Persian
- infant of a magical creature secretly exchanged for a human infant
- عوضی 'avazi, تخمِ جن toxm-e jen
Examples of changeling in a sentence
- Juſt as a Changeling ſeems below the reſt / Of Men, or rather is a two-legg’d Beaſt, / So theſe Gigantick Souls amaz'd we find / As much above the reſt of human kind.1709, Earl of Murlgrave [i.e., John Sheffield, 1st Duke of Buckingham and Normanby, formerly Earl of Mulgrave], An Essay on Poetry, London...
- Nothing will induce parents to show any attention to a child that they suspect of being a changeling.1828, Thomas Keightley, The Fairy Mythology, volume I, London: William Harrison Ainsworth, page 263:
- Some ways that parents have responded to these supposed child-swaps also have eerie echoes of the changeling legends.2023, Naomi Klein, “Autism and the Anti-Vax Prequel”, in Doppelganger: A Trip into the Mirror World, Farrar, Straus and Giroux, →ISBN:
- You would not have me a changeling at this time of day, I hope, Maſter Shallow. / Shal[low].1760, [William] Kenrick, Falstaff’s Wedding: A Comedy. […], London: […] J. Wilkie, […] , →OCLC, act II, scene vi, page 28:
Synonyms of changeling
30 more synonymsFewer synonyms
Forms of changeling
| Noun | |
|---|---|
| plural | changelings |
| Adjective | |
| comparative | more changeling |
| superlative | most changeling |
Origin of changeling
The noun is derived from change + -ling (suffix with the sense ‘immature; small’). Sense 6 (“idiot, simpleton”) is from the idea that foolish children had been left by magical creatures (sense 1). The adjective is derived from the noun.
Questions about changeling
- What does changeling mean?
- Changeling means in pre-modern European folklore: an infant of a magical creature that was secretly exchanged for a human infant. In British, Irish and Scandinavian mythology the exchanged infants were thought to be those of fairies, sprites or trolls; in other places, they were ascribed to demons, devils, or witches.
- What is changeling in Arabic?
- Changeling in Arabic is خائن. See Changeling meaning in Arabic.
- How do you use changeling in a sentence?
- Juſt as a Changeling ſeems below the reſt / Of Men, or rather is a two-legg’d Beaſt, / So theſe Gigantick Souls amaz'd we find / As much above the reſt of human kind.
- What part of speech is changeling?
- Changeling can be a noun or an adjective.
- How do you pronounce changeling?
- Changeling is pronounced /ˈtʃeɪn(d)ʒlɪŋ/ (UK).
- What is the plural of changeling?
- The plural of changeling is changelings.
Words near changeling in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: changeling (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
Last updated:
Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: En-us-changeling.oga.
Cite this entry: “changeling.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/changeling. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.