foster

See also: Foster

English

WOTD – 30 July 2007

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈfɒstə/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /ˈfɔstɚ/
• (cot–caught merger) IPA^(key): /ˈfɑstɚ/

• Audio (US):

  (file)

• Audio (General Australian):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɒstə(ɹ)

Etymology 1

From Middle English foster, from Old English fōstor (“food, sustenance”), from Proto-West Germanic *fōstr, from Proto-Germanic *fōstrą (“nourishment, food”).

Cognate with Middle Dutch voester (“nursemaid”), Middle Low German vôster (“food”), Old Norse fóstr (“nurturing, education, alimony, child support”), Danish foster (“fetus”), Swedish foster (“fetus”).

Adjective

foster (not comparable)

1. Providing parental care to children not related to oneself.

   foster parents

2. Receiving such care.

   a foster child

3. Related by such care.

   We are a foster family.

Translations

providing parental care to unrelated children

• Finnish: kasvatus-, kasvatti-
• French: adoptant (fr) m, adoptif (fr) m
• Galician: adoptivo
• Georgian: ნაშვილები (našvilebi)
• German: Pflege-
• Greek: θετός (el) (thetós)
• Hebrew: אָמְנָה (he) f (omná)
• Italian: affidatario (it) m, adottivo (it) m
• Occitan: adoptiu (oc)
• Portuguese: adotivo (pt) (Brazil), adoptivo (Portugal)
• Russian: приёмный (ru) (prijómnyj)
• Spanish: adoptivo (es)
• Swedish: adoptera (sv)
• Turkish: yetiştiren

receiving such care

• French: adoptif (fr) m
• Galician: adoptado, adoptivo
• Georgian: ნაშვილები (našvilebi)
• German: Pflege-
• Greek: θετός (el) (thetós)
• Hungarian: nevelt (hu)
• Italian: adottivo (it) m
• Russian: приёмный (ru) (prijómnyj)
• Spanish: adoptivo (es), adoptado (es)
• Turkish: evlatlık (tr)

related by such care

• French: adoptif (fr)

Noun

foster (countable and uncountable, plural fosters)

1. (countable, informal) A foster parent.

   Some fosters end up adopting.

2. (uncountable) The care given to another; guardianship.

Verb

foster (third-person singular simple present fosters, present participle fostering, simple past and past participle fostered)

1. (transitive) To nurture or bring up offspring, or to provide similar parental care to an unrelated child.
   • c. 1588–1593, [William Shakespeare], The Most Lamentable Romaine Tragedie of Titus Andronicus: As It was Plaide by the Right Honourable the Earle of Darbie, Earle of Pembrooke, and Earle of Sussex Their Seruants (the First Quarto), London: Printed by Iohn Danter, and are to be sold by Edward White & Thomas Millington, at the little North doore of Paules at the signe of the Gunne, published 1594, →OCLC, [Act II, scene iii]:

     Some ſay that Rauens foſter forlorne children, / The whilſt their owne birds famiſh in their neſts: / Oh be to me though thy hard hart ſay no, / Nothing ſo kinde but ſomething pittiful.

2. (transitive) To promote the development of something; to cultivate and grow a thing.

   Our company fosters an appreciation for the arts.

   • 1850, [Alfred, Lord Tennyson], In Memoriam, London: Edward Moxon, […], →OCLC, Canto VIII, page 10:

     ⁠A flower beat with rain and wind,
     Which once she foster’d up with care

   • 1905, Lord Dunsany [i.e., Edward Plunkett, 18th Baron of Dunsany], The Gods of Pegāna, London: [Charles] Elkin Mathews, […], →OCLC:

     And Time, which is the hound of Sish, devoured all things; and Sish sent up the ivy and fostered weeds, and dust fell from the hand of Sish and covered stately things.

   • 2016 February 23, Robbie Collin, “Grimsby review: ‘Sacha Baron Cohen’s vital, venomous action movie’”, in The Daily Telegraph (London):

     Grimsby doesn't ever wound quite as devastatingly as Borat or Brüno, but it's a vital, lavish, venomously profane two fingers up at Benefits Street pity porn and the social division it fosters.

3. (transitive) To nurse or cherish something.
4. (intransitive, obsolete) To be nurtured or trained up together.
   • 1596, Edmund Spenser, “Book IV, Canto V”, in The Faerie Queene. […], London: […] [John Wolfe] for William Ponsonbie, →OCLC:

     There Florimell, in her first ages flowre,
     And passing beautie did eftsoones reveale,
     Was fostered by those Graces

Usage notes

Modern English makes a distinction between fostering (which is implied to be temporary or informal) and adopting (which is permanent and makes the child legally recognized as part of the family). In older usage the two terms were more interchangeable.

Antonyms

• (antonym(s) of “cultivate and grow”): hamper

Derived terms

• cross-foster
• fosterable
• fosterage
• foster brother
• foster care
• foster-child, foster child
• fosterer
• foster fail
• foster family
• foster father
• foster home
• fosterhood
• fostering
• fosterling
• fosterment
• foster mother
• foster parent
• foster sibling
• foster sister

 

Translations

to nurture or bring up offspring; or to provide similar parental care to an unrelated child

• Bulgarian: отглеждам (bg) (otgleždam), грижа се за (griža se za)
• Catalan: criar (ca)
• Czech: pečovat (cs)
• Danish: opfostre (da)
• Dutch: verzorgen (nl), opvoeden (nl)
• Finnish: kasvattaa (fi)
• French: élever (fr), adopter (fr)
• Galician: criar (gl), afillar (gl), adoptar (gl)
• Georgian: აღზრდა (aɣzrda)
• German: (in Pflege) aufziehen, (in Pflege) großziehen
• Greek: ανατρέφω (el) (anatréfo)
• Hungarian: istápol (hu), felnevel (hu)
• Irish: altramaigh, máithrigh, oil (ga)
• Italian: allevare (it), adottare (it), nutrire (it), rafforzare (it), favorire (it)
• Kurdish:

  Northern Kurdish: xwedî kirin (ku), mezin kirin (ku)

• Macedonian: во́спита pf (vóspita), воспи́тува impf (vospítuva)
• Maori: taurima, whāngai
• Middle English: fostren
• Occitan: abalir (oc), noirir (oc)
• Portuguese: criar (pt)
• Russian: воспи́тывать (ru) impf (vospítyvatʹ)
• Scottish Gaelic: altraim
• Spanish: criar (es)
• Swedish: uppfostra (sv)
• Turkish: yetiştirmek (tr)
• Welsh: maethu (cy)

to cultivate and grow something

• Bulgarian: отглеждам (bg) (otgleždam)
• Catalan: cultivar (ca)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 營造／营造 (zh) (yíng zào)

• Dutch: kweken (nl), aanmoedigen (nl)
• Finnish: vaalia (fi)
• French: cultiver (fr)
• Georgian: წახალისება (c̣axaliseba), წაქეზება (c̣akezeba)
• German: pflegen (de)
• Greek: μεγαλώνω (el) (megalóno)
• Italian: coltivare (it), accrescere (it), promuovere (it)
• Kurdish:

  Northern Kurdish: xwedî kirin (ku), mezin kirin (ku)

• Macedonian: одгле́дува impf (odgléduva), о́дгледа pf (ódgleda)
• Maori: ahu, ahuahu
• Middle English: fostren
• Occitan: cultivar (oc)
• Portuguese: cultivar (pt)
• Russian: поощря́ть (ru) impf (pooščrjátʹ)
• Spanish: fomentar (es)
• Turkish: beslemek (tr), yetiştirmek (tr), büyütmek (tr)

to nurse or cherish something

• Bulgarian: питая (bg) (pitaja)
• Finnish: vaalia (fi), hoivata (fi)
• Georgian: ხელის გულზე ტარება (xelis gulze ṭareba), ლოლიაობა (loliaoba), სათუთად მოვლა (satutad movla)
• German: nähren (de), fördern (de)
• Greek: ανατρέφω (el) (anatréfo)
• Italian: nutrire (it), accudire (it), curare (it), sostenere (it), incoraggiare (it)
• Kurdish:

  Northern Kurdish: xwedî kirin (ku), mezin kirin (ku)

• Macedonian: не́гува (néguva)
• Maori: kumanu, rauhī
• Portuguese: nutrir (pt), cuidar (pt)
• Russian: леле́ять (ru) impf (leléjatʹ), хо́лить (ru) impf (xólitʹ)
• Scottish Gaelic: altraim
• Turkish: beslemek (tr)

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Translations to be checked

• Catalan: ^{(please verify)} promoure (ca)
• Spanish: ^{(please verify)} promover (es), ^{(please verify)} incentivar (es)

Etymology 2

Noun

foster (plural fosters)

1. (obsolete) A forester.
   • 1590, Edmund Spenser, “Book III, Canto I”, in The Faerie Queene. […], London: […] [John Wolfe] for William Ponsonbie, →OCLC:

     A griesly Foster forth did rush.

Anagrams

• Forest, Forets, Fortes, fetors, forest, forset, fortes, fortés, froste, softer

Danish

Etymology

From Old Norse fóstr (“rear, raise”), from Proto-Germanic *fōstrą.

Noun

foster n (singular definite fostret or fosteret, plural indefinite fostre)

1. fetus

Inflection

Declension of foster

neuter gender	Singular		Plural
	indefinite	definite	indefinite	definite
nominative	foster	fostret fosteret	fostre	fostrene
genitive	fosters	fostrets fosterets	fostres	fostrenes

Middle English

Alternative forms

• fostre, voster
• (Early ME) fostær
• (hypercorrect) forster

Etymology 1

Inherited from Old English fōster, from Proto-West Germanic *fōstr, from Proto-Germanic *fōstrą; reinforced by Old English fōstre (“fosterer”). The vocalism is due to regular shortening before a three-consonant cluster (in the Old English oblique stem fōstr-).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈfɔstər/, /ˈfɔstrə/

Noun

foster (plural *fostres)

1. A child; one of one's progeny.
2. (chiefly Early Middle English) Food or other care.
3. (rare) A foster child or adopted child.
4. (rare) A foster parent or adoptee.

Related terms

• fosterbroder
• fosterfader
• fostermoder
• fostren

Descendants

• English: foster
• Scots: foster

References

• “foster, n.(1).”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007.
• “forstē̆r, n.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007.

Etymology 2

Noun

foster

1. Alternative form of forester

Etymology 3

Verb

foster

1. Alternative form of fostren

Norwegian Bokmål

Etymology

From Old Norse fóstr.

Noun

foster n (definite singular fosteret or fostret, indefinite plural foster or fostre, definite plural fostra or fostrene)

1. (biology) a fetus or foetus

Derived terms

• fostervann

Related terms

• embryo

References

• “foster” in The Bokmål Dictionary.

Norwegian Nynorsk

Etymology

From Old Norse fóstr.

Noun

foster n (definite singular fosteret, indefinite plural foster, definite plural fostera)

1. (biology) a fetus or foetus

Related terms

• embryo

References

• “foster” in The Nynorsk Dictionary.

Old English

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈfoːs.ter/

Noun

fōster n

1. Alternative form of fōstor

Declension

Declension of foster (strong a-stem)

Case	Singular	Plural
nominative	fōster	fōstru
accusative	fōster	fōstru
genitive	fōstres	fōstra
dative	fōstre	fōstrum

Swedish

Etymology

From Old Norse fóstr (“rear, raise”), from Proto-Germanic *fōstrą.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /fʊstɛr/

Noun

foster n

1. fetus

Declension

Declension of foster
	Singular		Plural
	Indefinite	Definite	Indefinite	Definite
Nominative	foster	fostret	foster	fostren
Genitive	fosters	fostrets	fosters	fostrens

Related terms

• fosterbror
• fosterfördrivning
• fosterhem
• fostersyster
• fostra