foster

Meanings

Adjective

• Providing parental care to children not related to oneself.
• Receiving such care.
• Related by such care.

Noun

• A foster parent.
• The care given to another; guardianship.
• A forester.

Verb

• To nurture or bring up offspring, or to provide similar parental care to an unrelated child.
• To cultivate and grow something.
• To nurse or cherish something.
• To be nurtured or trained up together.

Related

Opposite words

• hinder

Origin

• From Middle English foster, from Old English fostor ("food, sustenance"), from Proto-Germanic *fōstrą ("nourishment, food"). Cognate with Middle Dutch voester ("nursemaid"), Middle Low German voster ("food"), Old Norse fóstr ("nurturing, education, alimony, child support"), Danish foster ("fetus"), Swedish foster ("fetus").