What does changeling mean?

Definitions for changeling
ˈtʃeɪndʒ lɪŋchangeling

This dictionary definitions page includes all the possible meanings, example usage and translations of the word changeling.

Princeton's WordNet

  1. idiot, imbecile, cretin, moron, changeling, half-wit, retardnoun

    a person of subnormal intelligence

  2. changelingnoun

    a child secretly exchanged for another in infancy

Wiktionary

  1. changelingnoun

    In British, Irish and Scandinavian mythology, an infant of a fairy, sprite or troll that the creature has secretly exchanged for a human infant.

  2. changelingnoun

    An infant secretly exchanged with another infant.

  3. changelingnoun

    An organism which can change shape to mimic others.

Samuel Johnson's Dictionary

  1. Changelingnoun

    Etymology: from change; the word arises from an odd superstitious opinion, that the fairies steal away children, and put others that are ugly and stupid in their places.

    And her base elfin breed there for thee left;
    Such, men do changelings call, so chang’d by fairies theft. Edmund Spenser, Fairy Queen, b. i. c. x. stanz. 65.

    She, as her attendant, hath
    A lovely boy stol’n from an Indian king;
    She never had so sweet a changeling. William Shakespeare, Midsummer Night’s Dream.

    Changelings and fools of heav’n, and thence shut out,
    Wildly we roam in discontent about. John Dryden, Tyrr. Love.

    Would any one be a changeling, because he is less determined by wise considerations than a wise man? John Locke.

    ’Twas not long
    Before from world to world they swung;
    As they had turn’d from side to side,
    And as they changelings liv’d, they died. Hudibras.

Wikipedia

  1. Changeling

    A changeling, also historically referred to as an auf or oaf, is a human-like creature found in folklore throughout Europe. A changeling was believed to be a fairy that had been left in place of a human (typically a child) stolen by other fairies.

ChatGPT

  1. changeling

    A changeling is a creature found in folklore and mythology, typically described as a humanoid being secretly swapped or substituted by fairies, trolls, elves, or other supernatural creatures for a human infant. The term is also often used in literature and media to refer to a character who can shape-shift or transform into different forms.

Webster Dictionary

  1. Changelingnoun

    one who, or that which, is left or taken in the place of another, as a child exchanged by fairies

  2. Changelingnoun

    a simpleton; an idiot

  3. Changelingnoun

    one apt to change; a waverer

  4. Changelingadjective

    taken or left in place of another; changed

  5. Changelingadjective

    given to change; inconstant

  6. Etymology: [Change + -ling.]

Wikidata

  1. Changeling

    Kevin Sydney is a fictional character that has been a member of the X-Men in comic book stories published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Roy Thomas and artist Werner Roth, the character first appeared in X-Men #35. Kevin Sydney first appeared as Changeling, a mutant shapeshifter. He was a short-lived adversary for the X-Men who subsequently joined Professor X and died shortly after, making him the first member of the X-Men to die in action. The character was reintroduced as Morph in the 1990s for the X-Men Animated Series and later as part of The Exiles in 2001. Despite sharing the same alter ego, Changeling and Morph are distinctly separate characters and exist in different realities in the Marvel Multiverse.

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Numerology

  1. Chaldean Numerology

    The numerical value of changeling in Chaldean Numerology is: 7

  2. Pythagorean Numerology

    The numerical value of changeling in Pythagorean Numerology is: 8

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Translations for changeling

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"changeling." Definitions.net. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 19 Apr. 2024. <https://www.definitions.net/definition/changeling>.

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