Meanings
plural swaplings
- An infant or child secretly exchanged for another; changeling.
A fire was kept burning in front of this and swaplings were kept inside to "poke away" the wild animals, including bears (as Grandma recalled being told).
1993, Huntington County, Indiana: History & Families, 1834-1993 - Page 3301 more example
The parents of the human girl child would scream when they found the swapling, cry out even louder than they were doing right now, and wail, and call for the queen's guard, and kneel in their churches, […]
2011, Christopher Golden, The Monster's CornerSynonyms: changeling, oaf
Synonyms & antonyms
nounAn infant or child secretly exchanged for another; changeling.
Origin
Rhymes & wordplay
Anagrams
Cite this entry
swapling. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/swapling
“swapling.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/swapling. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “swapling,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/swapling.
Source: swapling on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.