changeling

[ cheynj-ling ]

/ ˈtʃeɪndʒ lɪŋ /

a child surreptitiously or unintentionally substituted for another.

(in folklore) an ugly, stupid, or strange child left by fairies in place of a pretty, charming child.

Philately. a postage stamp that, by accident or intention, has been chemically changed in color.

Archaic.

Origin of changeling

First recorded in 1545–55; change + -ling¹

To be fair, and slightly ashamed of myself, I did not watch Changeling.

If I Ran the Oscars |Jessi Klein |January 23, 2009 |DAILY BEAST
A French changeling was once moved unawares to sing out that it was nine hundred years old, at least!

Brownies and Bogles |Louise Imogen Guiney
But the People of the Hills didn't work any changeling tricks.

Rewards and Fairies |Rudyard Kipling
There is one story of a changeling that has some graphic incidents.

A Danish Parsonage |John Fulford Vicary

When Eben came home from his successful sales, he found a changeling.

Country Neighbors |Alice Brown
I am a changeling, substituted by my mother for the heiress of the Lesley family.

The Blue Jar Story Book |Maria Edgeworth

changeling

/ (ˈtʃeɪndʒlɪŋ) /

a child believed to have been exchanged by fairies for the parents' true child

archaic