▪ I. foster, n.1 Obs. exc. in Comb.
(ˈfɒstə(r))
[OE. fóstor, str. neut. = ON. fóstr:—OTeut. *fôstro{supm}, f. root *fôð- (see food) + instrumental suffix -tro-.]
1. Food, nourishment.
| c 1000 Saxon Leechd. II. 198 Sio is blodes timber, & blodes hus, & fostor. c 1230 Hali Meid. 15 Ure licomes lust is he feondes foster. |
| Proverb. a 1420 Hoccleve De Reg. Princ. 60 Styntyng the cause, th' effect styntethe eke, No lenger forster, no lenger lemman. 1670 Ray Proverbs 94 No longer foster no longer friend. |
2. Guardianship, keeping, fostering.
at foster, at nurse (with a foster-parent).
| c 1460 Towneley Myst. (Surtees) 320 Now shalle thai have rom in pyk and tar ever dwelland, Of thare sorow no some, bot ay to be yelland In oure fostre. 1861 G. W. Dasent Burnt Njal II. 166 They had children out at foster there. |
3. a. Offspring, progeny.
b. One nourished or brought up; a foster-child, nursling.
c. An animal of one's own breeding.
| a. a 1175 Cott. Hom. 225 Ic ȝegaderi in-to ðe of diercynne and of fuȝel cynne simle ȝemacan, þat hi eft to fostre bien. a 1225 Leg. Kath. 451 Ant ti semliche schape schaweð wel þæt tu art freo monne foster. 13.. E.E. Allit. P. B. 257 For hit was þe forme-foster þat þe folde bred. 1513 Douglas æneis vi. xv. 86 Ne neuer, certis, the ground of the Romanis Of ony foster sall hym so avance. |
| b. c 1205 Lay. 25921 Eleine min aȝen uoster. 1585 M. W. Commendat. Verses to Jas. I's Ess. Poesie (Arb.) 10 Lo heir the fructis, Nymphe, of thy foster faire. |
| c. 1609 Skene Reg. Maj. 108 This..beast..is my leill, lawfull, and hamehalde cattell, or my inborne foister, the quhilk was thifteouslie stollen fra me. |
4. attrib. and
Comb., as
foster-home,
foster-milk,
foster-brother, -sister;
foster-child, -son and synonymously
foster-babe,
foster-daughter. Also
foster-father, -mother and in the synonyms
foster-dam,
† foster-mame (
Sc.),
foster-parent,
foster-sire; hence in sense of ‘acting as a foster-mother or nurse’,
foster-city,
foster-earth.
| 1818 Byron Ch. Har. iv. lxxxix, All thy *foster-babes are dead. |
| 1618 Bolton Florus iii. xviii. (1636) 228 All Etruria and Campania, finally Italy, rose joyntly in armes against the mother and *foster city. |
| 1697 Dryden æneid viii. 843 There, by the Wolf, were laid the Martial Twins..The *foster⁓Dam loll'd out her fawning Tongue. |
| c 1616 Webster Duch. Malfy ii. ii, Go, go, give your *foster-daughters good counsel. |
| 1708 J. Philips Cyder i. 9 The nursling Grove Seems fair awhile, cherish'd with *foster Earth. |
| 1886 Longm. Mag. VII. 647 *Foster-homes under the boarding-out system. |
| 1606 W. Birnie Kirk-Buriall (1833) 17 Superstition, the *foster mame of all error. |
| 1582 Bentley Mon. Matrones iii. 272 Like a louing mother, and tender nursse, giving my *foster⁓milke, the foode of thy word and Gospell, aboundantlie to all. |
| 1649 Jer. Taylor Gt. Exemp. 37 That little love which is abated from the *Foster-parents upon publick report that they are not natural. 1816 Gentl. Mag. LXXXVI. i. 11 The Gentleman's Magazine being very justly considered as the foster-parent of English Topography. |
| 1878 M. A. Brown Nadeschda 16 Scarce had the beauteous maiden ceased When Miljutin, her kind *foster sire..approached. |
Hence
ˈfostership = fosterage.
| 1861 A. H. Clington Frank O'Donnell 110 The tie of fostership is, or at least was, held as sacred as that of natural brothers. |
▪ II. ˈfoster, n.2 Obs. exc. arch. Also 1–3
fostre.
[OE. (cild-) fóstre wk. fem., nurse, = MDu. voester (also voetster, mod.Du. voedster), ON. fóstra:—OTeut. *fôstrôn-, f. *fôstr-o{supm}: see prec. ON. had fóstre wk. masc., foster-father, of similar formation. In the sole recorded
OE. instance, a variant reading is
cild féstre, which is
prob. a genuine form:—prehistoric
*fôdistra,
f. root of
food +
fem. agent-suffix
-istrôn,
-ster.]
A foster-parent, nurse.
| a 1000 Laws of Ine lxiii[i], Mot he habben..mid him..his cildfostran [v.r. -festran]. a 1225 St. Marher. 8 Þu art foster ant feder to helplese children. c 1250 Gen. & Ex. 2620 Sche forð-ran, And brogt hire a fostre wimman. Ibid. 2624–5 Iakabeð wente bliðe agen, ðat ȝhe ðe gildes [cildes?] fostre muste ben. a 1563 Becon Humble Supplic. Wks. 1563 III. 21 b, Heretofore we had suche shepeheardes, as were tender fosters of thy flocke. 1601 Holland Pliny xv. iv, The Greekes, whom wee may count the very fathers and fosters of all vices. 1640 R. Baillie Canterb. Self-Convict. Pref. 10 Your sweete Fosters the Bishops have brought the Pope upon you and your Children. 1737 Waterland Eucharist 157 The Word is all Things to the Infant, a Father, a Mother, a Preceptor, a Foster. 1851 Longfellow Gold. Leg. ii. Village Church, This is the Black Pater-noster, God was my foster, He fostered me Under the book of the Palm-tree! |
▪ III. † ˈfoster, n.3 Obs. Also 5
fostere.
[contracted f. forester; used in AF.] = forester.
| c 1386 Chaucer Prol. 117 A forster [v.r. foster] was he, soothly, as I gesse. c 1430 Syr Tryam. 1063 Then swere the fosters alle twelve, They wolde no wedd but hymselfe. 1460 J. Capgrave Chron. 111 Flaundres..had no othir governouris but the Fosteres of the Kyng of Frauns. 15.. Adam Bel 561 in Hazl. E.P.P. II. 162 Forty fosters of the fe, These outlawes had y-slaw. 1590 Spenser F.Q. iii. i. 17 A griesly Foster forth did rush. 1594 [see forester 1]. 1597 Dowland 1st Bk. Songs (1844) 90 And love as well the foster can, As can the mighty nobleman. 1607 [see forester 1]. |
Hence
ˈfostership, the office of forester.
| 1628 Coke On Litt. 20 a, The Office of a Fostership [was] intailed. |
▪ IV. foster, v. (
ˈfɒstə(r))
Forms: 1 ?
fóstrian, 3
fostren,
-in, (
Orm. fosstrenn), 3–6
fostre, (3
south. vostre, 4
fostire), 5
foustre, (5
fostare, 7
fauster), 3–
foster.
[OE. *fóstrian (Lye), = ON. fóstra (Sw. fostra, Du. fostre), f. fóstor, foster n.1 The recorded OE. féstr(i)an may be either f. the same stem or f. féstre nurse: see foster n.2] † 1. trans. To supply with food or nourishment; to nourish, feed, support. In early
quots. to feed and foster.
Obs. in
lit. sense.
| [a 1050 Liber Scintill. lxxxi. (1889) 222 Mann byþ festrud [nutritur] and byð ᵹefedd.] c 1200 Ormin 1558 Annd Jesu Crist himm sellf shall ben Uppo þatt bodiȝ hæfedd, To fedenn & to fosstrenn hemm. c 1300 Havelok 1434 Vnto this day, Haue ich ben fed and fostred ay. c 1386 Chaucer Manciple's T. 71 Lat take a cat, and fostre him wel with milk, And tendre flesh. 1483 Caxton Gold. Leg. 434 b/1 Wold to god I had mylke to foustre the wythal. 1611 Shakes. Cymb. ii. iii. 119 One, bred but of Almes, and foster'd with cold dishes. [1719 Young Busiris v. i, The infant of my bosom! Whom I would foster with my vital blood.] |
| fig. a 1340 Hampole Psalter xxx. 4 For þi name þou sall lede me & fostire me. a 1400–50 Alexander 3495 His flesche is fostard & fedd be fiȝt & by sternes. 1526 Pilgr. Perf. (W. de W. 1531) 108 b, They sholde be..with swete consolacyons fostred & nourysshed. 1647 H. More Song of Soul ii. ii. iii. iv, Fauster'd and fed with hid hypocrisie. |
† 2. To bring up (a child) with parental care; often, to bring up as a foster-child, be a foster-parent to. Also with
forth,
up.
Obs.| c 1205 Lay. 25900 Ich wes hire uoster-moder, and feire heo uostredde. c 1340 Cursor M. 3070 (Trin.) Here shal þou wiþ him wone & foster forþ here þi sone. 1357 Lay Folks Catech., Fleshli fadir and modir That getes and fosters us forthe in this world. c 1386 Chaucer Man of Law's T. 177 Thy yonge doughter fostred up so softe. 1470–85 Malory Arthur i. vi, Your wyf that as wel as her owne hath fostred me and kepte. 1529 More Supplic. Soulys Wks. 337/2 Oure fathers also, whiche while we liued fostred vs vp so tenderly. 1588 Shakes. Tit. A. ii. iii. 153 Some say, that Rauens foster forlorne children. 1606 L. Bryskett Civ. Life 34 Such children as were borne vnperfect..should not..be fostered vp. 1697 Dryden æneid vii. 941 The son of Mulciber, Found in the Fire, and foster'd in the Plains. |
† b. To bring up, educate, nurture
in (beliefs, habits, etc.).
Obs.| c 1386 Chaucer Sec. Nun's T. 122 This mayden..Was..from hir cradel fostred in the faith Of Crist. 1483 Caxton Gold. Leg. 378/1. 1588 A. King tr. Canisius' Catech. 50 Fosterit, teachit, and brocht vp in continuall exercise. 1580 Sidney Arcadia ii. (1590) 138 b, A Prince..fostred [ed. 1598 fostered vp] in blood by his naughty Father. |
c. with reference to
fosterage 2. Also
absol.| 1515 in St. Papers Hen. VIII (1834) II. 13 Some sayeth, that the Englyshe noble folke useith to delyver therre children to the Kynges Irysshe enymyes to foster. 1596 Spenser State Irel. Wks. (Globe) 638/2 These evill customes of fostring and marrying with the Irish most carefully to be restrayned. 1775 Johnson West. Isl. 313 A Laird, a man of wealth and eminence, sends his child, either male or female, to a tacksman or tenant, to be fostered. 1887 Stokes tr. Tripartite Life Patrick 141 He gave him to bishop Bron to be fostered. |
d. to foster on (a lamb): to put it to a ewe, which is not its mother, to be nourished.
| 1816 Keatinge Trav. (1817) II. 264 Sometimes it is necessary to..compel the ewes to admit the lambs, either their own or fostered on, to suck them. Note, To foster on a lamb, they tie the ewe, and at night compel her to give suck to the lamb two or three times. |
e. transf. and
fig. of a country, etc.
| a 1300 Cursor M. 22102 Bethsaida and corozaim, þir tua cites sal foster him. 1577 tr. Bullinger's Decades (1592) 145 Euery mans countrie..which fed, fostered, adorned, and defended him. 1583 Stanyhurst æneis i. (Arb.) 35 Such barbarus vsadge What soyle wyld fosters? |
3. To ‘nurse’, tend with affectionate care; to ‘nurse’, cherish, keep warm (in the bosom).
| c 1386 Chaucer Clerk's T. 166 And in greet reverence and charitee Hir olde poore fader fostred she. ― Merch. T. 143 No man hateth his flesh, but in his lyf He fostreth it. 1388 Wyclif Prov. v. 20 Mi sone, whi art thou disseyued of an alien womman; and art fostrid [foveris] in the bosum of an othere? 1483 Caxton G. de la Tour I iv b, She hadde grete pyte of wymmen whiche were at theyre childbedde and vysyted and foustred them. 1603 Knolles Hist. Turks (1638) 330, I was so foolish and inconsiderate to foster vp as it were in my bosom this my domesticall and neglected enemy. 1766 Goldsm. Vic. W. xxxi, What a viper have I been fostering in my bosom! 1821 Keats Lamia 140 But the god fostering her chilled hand, She felt the warmth. |
4. To encourage or help to grow; to promote the growth of (a fire, plant, etc.). Also, with
† forth,
up. Now only with mixture of sense 3.
| a 1225 Ancr. R. 296 Þe sparke lið & keccheð more fur, & fostreð hit forð, & waxeð from lesse to more. 1377 Langl. P. Pl. B. xvii. 206 Wex and weyke and hote fyre togyderes Fostren forth a flaumbe. 1555 W. Watreman Fardle Facions i. i. 24 The moste pleasaunt plot of the earth, fostered to flourishe with the moisture of floudes on euery parte. 1576 Gascoigne Philomene 4 Westerne windes do foster forth our floures. 1615 G. Sandys Trav. (1652) 133 They [the priests] shave their heads and foster their beards, contrary to the laity. 1850 Tennyson In Mem. viii, A flower..Which once she foster'd up with care. 1856 Kane Arct. Expl. I. ix. 98 Fostered by the reverberation of solar heat from the rocks, we met a flower growth. |
5. To encourage, cherish, harbour fondly, nurse (a feeling, etc.); to encourage, promote the development of; (of things, circumstances) to be favourable or conducive to. Also with
up.
| 1570 Buchanan Ane Admonit. Wks. (1892) 31 The hamiltonis fosterit yair vane hoip. 1585 Abp. Sandys Serm. x. 166 The Arrians, the Anabaptists, the Family of loue, with all others of the like sort, fostered vp their errors in secret and darke corners. 1755 Monitor (1756) I. ii. 17 They always foster up a jealousy in the minds of the people. 1783 Johnson Let. to Mrs. Thrale 8 July, Of Miss H — whom you charge me with forgetting, I know not why I should much foster the remembrance. 1785 Burke Sp. Nabob of Arcot's Debts Wks. IV. 207 The system of concealment is fostered by a system of falsehood. 1809–10 Coleridge Friend (1865) 192 Rivalry between two nations..fosters all the virtues by which national security is maintained. 1844 H. H. Wilson Brit. India II. 216 Thus fostered, the insurrection was rapidly gaining head. 1844 Disraeli Coningsby vii. viii, The enmities that are fostered between you and my grand⁓father. 1868 Rogers Pol. Econ. viii. (1876) 76 The genius of financiers was directed towards fostering exportation, checking importation. 1885 Clodd Myths & Dr. i. iii. 40 The superstitions which mountainous countries especially foster. |
† b. To encourage, indulge
in a habit, etc.
Obs.| 1568 Grafton Chron. II. 64 Rather to be brideled for his presumption, then to bee fostered and encouraged therin. 1633 Prynne 1st Pt. Histrio-mastix vi. vi. 505 Stage-playes serve..to drawe men on by degrees to idlenesse, or to foster, to foment them in it. |
Hence
ˈfostered ppl. a.| 1583 Stanyhurst æneis i. (Arb.) 17 Junoes long fostred deadlye reuengment. 1608 R. Armin Nest Ninn. (1842) 50 The Citty..placed him as a fostred fatherless child. 1639 G. Daniel Ecclus. xxix. 95 Thou shalt be revil'd..even by the ffoster'd Child Of thy owne Charity. 1790–1811 W. Combe Devil upon Two Stick's in Eng. (1817) IV. 201 The fostered habits of his mind. |
Sense 2 e in
Dict. becomes 2
f. Add:
[2.] e. to foster out: to put (a child) into the care of foster parents.
Cf. to board out s.v. board v. 10.
| 1960 F. G. Lennhoff Exceptional Children i. 25 Some [of the children] were adopted or fostered out and the relationship between child and adults has not developed into a healthy child–parent relationship. 1986 M. Forster Private Papers 4 Children from the Home were regularly adopted or fostered out. 1987 Daily Tel. 25 June 13/8 By the time they reached that decision couples had been broken up, bewildered and distressed children separated from siblings and fostered out. |