| 释义 |
change·ling
I. \ˈchānjliŋ, -lēŋ\ noun
(-s)
Etymology: change (I) + -ling
1. archaic : one that wavers : one marked by fickleness or inconstancy; especially : traitor, turncoat
2.
a. obsolete : a fraudulent substitute surreptitiously left in place of a valued object or personage
b.
(1) : a child left in place of another child carried away surreptitiously in early infancy (as a lowborn substitute for one of noble birth)
(2) in folk tradition : a deformed or weak-witted offspring of fairies or elves substituted by them surreptitiously for a comely human child — called also elf child
3. archaic : imbecile
4. : color changeling
II. adjective
1. archaic : wavering, inconstant
2. : markedly altered from an original or native condition
< his return to his family in Bombay …, half a stranger in dress and speech, wholly changeling in his un-Indian attitudes — John Woodburn > |