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Webster 1913 Edition

Foster

Fos′ter

,
Verb.
T.
[
imp. & p. p.
Fostered
,
p. pr. & vb. n.
Fostering
.]
[OE.
fostren
, fr. AS.
fōster
,
fōstor
, food, nourishment, fr.
fōda
food. √75. See
Food
.]
1.
To feed; to nourish; to support; to bring up.
Some say that ravens
foster
forlorn children.
Shakespeare
2.
To cherish; to promote the growth of; to encourage; to sustain and promote;
as, to
foster
genius
.

Fos′ter

,
Verb.
I.
To be nourished or trained up together.
[Obs.]
Spenser.

Fos′ter

,
Adj.
[AS.
fōster
,
fōstor
, nourishment. See
Foster
,
Verb.
T.
]
Relating to nourishment; affording, receiving, or sharing nourishment or nurture; – applied to father, mother, child, brother, etc., to indicate that the person so called stands in the relation of parent, child, brother, etc., as regards sustenance and nurture, but not by tie of blood.
Foster babe
or
Foster child
,
an infant or child nursed or raised by a woman not its mother, or bred by a man not its father.
–
Foster brother
,
Foster sister
,
one who is, or has been, nursed at the same breast, or brought up by the same nurse as another, but is not of the same parentage.
–
Foster dam
,
one who takes the place of a mother; a nurse.
Dryden.
–
Foster earth
,
earth by which a plant is nourished, though not its native soil.
J. Philips.
–
Foster father
,
a man who takes the place of a father in caring for a child.
Bacon.
–
Foster land
.
(a)
Land allotted for the maintenance of any one.
[Obs.]
(b)
One’s adopted country.
–
Foster lean
[
foster
+ AS.
læn
a loan See
Loan
.]
,
remuneration fixed for the rearing of a foster child; also, the jointure of a wife.
[Obs.]
Wharton.
–
Foster mother
,
a woman who takes a mother's place in the nurture and care of a child; a nurse.
–
Foster nurse
,
a nurse; a nourisher.
[R.]
Shak.
–
Foster parent
,
a foster mother or foster father.
–
Foster son
,
a male foster child.

Fos′ter

,
Noun.
A forester.
[Obs.]
Spenser.

Webster 1828 Edition

Foster

FOS'TER

, v.t.
1.
To feed; to nourish; to support; to being up.
Some say that ravens foster forlorn children.
2.
To cherish; to forward; to promote growth. The genial warmth of spring fosters the plants.
3.
To cherish; to encourage; to sustain and promote; as, to foster passion or genius.

FOS'TER

,
Verb.
I.
To be nourished or trained up together.

Definition 2024

Foster

Foster

See also: foster

English

Proper noun

Foster

  1. An English surname​, variant of Forster.
  2. A town in Victoria, Australia
  3. A town in Indiana
  4. A village in Missouri
  5. A village in Nebraska
  6. A town in Rhode Island
  7. A town in Wisconsin

Anagrams

foster

foster

See also: Foster

English

Adjective

foster ‎(not comparable)

  1. Providing parental care to unrelated children.
    Foster parents.
  2. Receiving such care.
    Foster child.
  3. Related by such care.
    We are a foster family.

Translations

Noun

foster ‎(countable and uncountable, plural fosters)

  1. (countable, obsolete) A forester
  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.
  2. (transitive) To cultivate and grow something.
    Our company fosters an appreciation for the arts.
    • 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.
    (Can we find and add a quotation of Spenser to this entry?)

Antonyms

  • (cultivate and grow): hinder

Translations

Derived terms

Anagrams

Danish

Etymology

From Old Norse fóstr ‎(“rear, raise”)

Noun

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

  1. fetus

Inflection

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

Related terms

Derived terms

References

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

References

Swedish

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /fʊstɛr/

Etymology

From Old Norse fóstr ‎(“rear, raise”)

Noun

foster n

  1. fetus

Declension

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

Related terms

Etymology

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

Pronunciation

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