swapling

S1W4A1P3L1I1N1G2

noun

An infant or child secretly exchanged for another; changeling.

Scrabble 14

Meanings

nounswapling (plural swaplings)

plural swaplings

  1. 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 330
    1 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 Corner

    Synonyms: changeling, oaf

Synonyms & antonyms

nounAn infant or child secretly exchanged for another; changeling.

Origin

Rhymes & wordplay

Anagrams

Cite this entry
APA

swapling. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/swapling

MLA

“swapling.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/swapling. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “swapling,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/swapling.

Source: swapling on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.