foster

Meaning

Adj

1. Providing parental care to children not related to oneself.
2. Receiving such care.
3. Related by such care.

Noun

1. (informal) A foster parent.
2. The care given to another; guardianship.

Verb

1. To nurture or bring up offspring, or to provide similar parental care to an unrelated child.
2. To promote the development of something; to cultivate and grow a thing.
3. To nurse or cherish something.
4. (obsolete) To be nurtured or trained up together.

Noun

A forester.

Pronounced as (IPA)

/ˈfɒstə/

Etymology

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