changelingn.adj.

Brit.

/ˈtʃeɪn(d)ʒlɪŋ/, U.S.

/ˈtʃeɪndʒlɪŋ/

Forms: see change v. and -ling suffix¹.

Origin: Formed within English, by derivation. Etymons: change v., -ling suffix¹.

Etymology: < change v. + -ling suffix¹.

A. n.

I. Someone or something that has been substituted for another.

a. A child secretly substituted for another in infancy; a child supposedly left by fairies in exchange for one stolen.Often used to refer to a child who is considered undesirable, or who does not resemble his or her family.In quot. 1600: a child stolen by fairies.

ΘΚΠ

the world > the supernatural > supernatural being > fairy or elf > [noun] > changeling

changeling1584

ouphea1616

aufe1621

oaf1638

killcrop1652

1534 N. Udall Floures for Latine Spekynge gathered oute of Terence f. 196^v Subditum se suspicatur. He mystrusteth hym selfe that he was some chaungelynge. Subditum .i. subdititium uel suppositum. Suppositus, ta, tum, a chaungelynge, or a chylde, that was chaunged in the cradle, and layde there for the very trewe chylde.

1584 R. Scot Discouerie Witchcraft vii. xv. 153 They haue so fraied vs with..elues, hags,..changlings, Incubus, Robin good fellowe..and such other bugs, that we are afraid of our owne shadowes.

1600 W. Shakespeare Midsummer Night's Dream ii. i. 23 She, as her attendant, hath..so sweete a changeling .

1664 H. More Modest Enq. Myst. Iniquity viii. 24 To steal a Prince out of his cradle, and leave a Changeling in the room.

1727 J. Gay Fables I. iii. 10 Your precious babe is hence convey'd, And in the place a changeling laid.

1763 M. Minifie & S. Gunning Hist. Lady Frances & Lady Caroline III. 198 Such a mother as yourself, who had never seen your own, but once from its birth, would not discern the changling.

1840 W. H. Ainsworth Tower of London 370 Yes! I am a changeling.

1861 H. B. Stowe Pearl of Orr's Island (1862) xx. 202 The temperaments of children are often as oddly unsuited to parents as if capricious fairies had been filling cradles with changelings.

1938 E. Goudge Towers in Mist (1998) ii. 33 So naughty was Diccon that the frightful idea had been expressed by Great-Aunt that he was in reality no child of theirs but a changeling.

2005 N. Brooks My Name is Denise Forrester 135 Picking this changeling up, touching it, maybe having it clamp onto her sore, leaky tits made her want to spew.

b. figurative and in figurative contexts.

ΚΠ

1587 J. Polemon 2nd Pt. Bk. Battailes Pref. sig. A.ij I..forsware mine owne child, bidding the Printer take it to himselfe, and father it on whom hee list, so he gaue it not mine name, for I would neuer acknowledge it for mine owne, but account it a changeling.

1659 J. Rogers Διαπολιτεία 36 He and others are labouring as for life to lay a Changeling (of the Jesuites begetting indeed) in the room of our present Commonwealth.

?1705 E. Hickeringill Surv. Earth 37 Fathering the Dirges, Prayers for the Dead, the Common-Prayer-Book..upon the Holy Ghost; whereas it was only the Pope's Brat, and a Changling, with which the Priest's went a begging for God's sake.

1795 T. D. Rees Iver & Hengo ii. 23 I trust he will not flinch, nor prove a changling to his father's blood.

1817 P. B. Shelley Laon & Cythna iv. i. 75 That grey tower..A changeling of man's art, nursed amid Nature's brood.

1855 T. B. Macaulay Hist. Eng. IV. 530 The small pox was always present..turning the babe into a changeling at which the mother shuddered.

1954 Poetry 85 3 Lovers are changelings, never knowing Whose lost blood pulses in their marvelous hearts.

2003 Relig. & Lit. 35 210 I alienated myself irrevocably from country and home, and believed myself a changeling of the Western Imagination.

2. More generally: a person or thing secretly or surreptitiously substituted for another; a replacement, esp. one of inferior worth or value.

ΘΚΠ

the world > time > change > exchange > [noun] > person or thing exchanged

pricea1300

botchmenta1425

changinga1425

exchange1490

tit for tat1546

changeling?1548

some and some1573

tip for tap1573

quid pro quo1816

?1548 A. Gilby Answer Deuillish Detection S. Gardiner Prol. f. viii The popishe Idole, the dombe God, and poetical chaungling, wherby..the true liuinge God is neglected.

1576 W. Lambarde Perambulation of Kent 105 King Canutus gaue..to Christes church in Canterbury, Sainct Bartholmews arme (if happely it were not a chaungeling: for Kings & great men were oftentymes after that sort deluded).

1640 Bp. J. Hall Episcopacie ii. xx. 204 It is not St. Ambrose..but a changling in his clothes.

1678 R. Cudworth True Intellect. Syst. Universe i. 54 The undermining and subversion of all Morality, by substituting something like it in the Room of it, that is a mere Counterfeit and Changeling.

1830 W. Scott Lett. Demonol. & Witchcraft vi. 175 Who live as changelings ever since, For love of your domains.

1895 Philatelic Jrnl. Amer. Jan. 22/2 Will those who say it is impossible for the American Bank Note Company to have made errors of color, claim these are changelings or trial sheets?

1937 Musical Times 78 1068/2 It may be that with greater familiarity this end will grow more convincing, but on a first hearing it seemed to be a changeling, not the real end for this beautiful work.

2001 T. Courtenay Dear Tom 70 I must have gloried in my mac too much that morning, and some jealous child had done a swap. I immediately took the changeling to Miss Davis and explained that it had been hung in place of my new one.

3. An extremely stupid or foolish person; an idiot, an imbecile. Now historical.Probably with reference to the idea that children with undesirable physical or mental characteristics were changelings in sense A. 1a.In quot. 1577: a person maddened or made foolish with rage.

ΘΚΠ

the world > health and disease > mental health > mental illness > mental deficiency > [noun] > person

congeonc1285

idiota1400

foola1425

natural foolc1450

natural idiot1497

natural1533

changeling1577

weakling1577

mooncalf1586

slimslack1600

aufe1621

oaf1638

weak-wit1656

underwit1682

imbecile1830

ament1871

unfortunate1881

balmy1903

subnormal1905

deficient1906

retard1909

retardate1912

retarded1912

mopoke1946

retardee1956

mong1980

1577 R. Stanyhurst Treat. Descr. Irelande iii. f. 14/1, in R. Holinshed Chron. I Some other woulde enkendle the like fire a freshe, and so consequently dishonest their wyfes, and make their husbands to become changelinges, as being turnde from sober moode to be hornewood.

1612 W. Attersoll Comm. Epist. to Philemon 127 If they [sc. children] do not prosper and proceede, we commonly call them and account them Vrchins and Changelings.

1622 J. Rawlins Famous Recoverie Ship of Bristoll sig. C2 They also obserue Lunaticks and changelings, and the Coniurer writeth downe their sayings in a booke.

1667 S. Pepys Diary 28 Dec. (1974) VIII. 594 To think how ill she doth any serious part..just like a fool or changeling.

1784 New Spectator No. 22. 1/1 Those only are changelings or naturals, who have no innate ideas.

1810 G. Crabbe Borough xviii. 228 A harmless idiot we behold, Who hoards up silver shells..To buy a seat, and reign the Borough's mayor: Alas!—who could th' ambitious changeling tell, That what he sought our rulers dar'd to sell?

1845 in H. Rogers Ess. (1850) I. 111 The giant becomes a dwarf—the genius a helpless changeling.

1911 J. W. McSpadden Opera Synopses 203 Nial, the half-witted changeling, and Enya, watch the battle with the Romans at the walls of the town.

2008 P. McDonagh Idiocy iii. 59 For Locke, idiots or changelings pose problems because they are apparently human yet are also without the rational faculties that he uses to define humanity.

†4. A figure of speech in which two elements of a proposition are reversed or given in a contradictory order; = hypallage n. Obsolete. rare.Apparently only attested in G. Puttenham.

ΘΚΠ

society > leisure > the arts > literature > style of language or writing > figure of speech > figures of structure or thought > [noun] > inversion > transposition of functions in sentence

changeling1589

hypallage1589

underchange1589

1589 G. Puttenham Arte Eng. Poesie iii. xv. 143 Hipallage, or the Changeling..as, he that should say, for tell me troth and lie not, lie me troth and tell not.

II. A changeable person.

5. A person likely to change attitude or allegiance; a fickle or inconstant person; a turncoat. Also figurative. Now somewhat archaic.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > will > decision > irresolution or vacillation > inconstancy > [noun] > inconstant person or thing > inconstant person

starter1519

changeling1539

flirt1577

Protean1598

weathercock1598

changerc1600

mooncalf1607

minute jacka1616

a nose of wax1821

sugar stick1825

wax-nosea1843

in-and-outer1905

brainstormer1907

the mind > will > decision > irresolution or vacillation > reversal of or forsaking one's will or purpose > [noun] > desertion of one's party or principles > one who

renay1340

apostate1362

renegatec1450

starter1519

reniant1532

changeling1539

rannigala1560

recreant1570

turncoat1570

renegado1573

start-away1574

off-faller?1575

start-back1579

departer1586

reneger1597

retrospicientc1600

runagadea1604

renegade1611

turn-tail1621

runagado1623

trip-coata1625

retrogredient1650

retrograde1651

tergiversator1716

rat1755

ratter1819

tergiversant1833

blackleg1844

strike-breaker1904

faller-out1964

1539 R. Morison Exhort. to styrre All Eng. Men (new ed.) sig. Dii We become chaungelynges, and for a tryfle leaue that we haue hitherto godly folowed.

1563 J. Foxe Actes & Monuments 1157/1 I am no chaungeling, neither none wyll be.

1598 W. Shakespeare Henry IV, Pt. 1 v. i. 76 Fickle changlings and poore discontents.

1651 J. Howell S.P.Q.V. 45 Which have their being under that changeling the Moon.

1682 J. Bunyan Holy War 42 They would never be Changlings, nor forsake their Old Lord for a New.

1759 W. Robertson Hist. Scotl. I. vi. 459 Darnley was such a changeling.

1797 A. M. Bennett Beggar Girl IV. iv. 151 She thought the unhappy creature was quite reformed, but poor Rose Wilkins was no changeling.

1807 R. Wilson Jrnl. 28 June in Life Gen. Sir R. Wilson (1862) II. 286 England has nought to fear from such changelings.

1844 in J. Davis Papers (1974) II. 176 This renowned political changeling poured forth a torrent of abuse on Mr. Clay.

1910 J. H. Clifford Standard Musical Encycl. II. 434/2 This scandal to the cloth was reproached for his versatility of religious creeds, and taxed for being..an inveterate changeling.

1999 USA Today (Nexis) 9 Feb. 17 a Great works of literature are changelings, somehow altering themselves to speak anew to each generation.

B. adj.

Changeable, varying; inconstant, fickle. Now somewhat archaic and rare.

ΘΚΠ

the world > time > change > changeableness > [adjective]

slidinga900

wankleeOE

windyc1000

unsteadfastc1200

fleeting?c1225

loose?c1225

brotelc1315

unstablec1340

varyingc1340

variantc1374

motleyc1380

ungroundedc1380

muablea1393

passiblea1393

remuablea1393

changeablea1398

movablea1398

variablec1397

slidderya1400

ticklec1400

variantc1412

flitting1413

mutable?a1425

movingc1425

flaskisable1430

flickering1430

transmutablec1430

vertible1447

brittlea1450

ficklea1450

permutablec1450

unfirmc1450

uncertain1477

turnable1483

unsteadfast1483

vagrantc1522

inconstant1526

alterable?1531

stirringc1540

slippery1548

various1552

slid?1553

mutala1561

rolling1561

weathery1563

unconstant1568

interchangeable1574

fluctuant1575

stayless1575

transitive1575

voluble1575

changeling1577

queasy1579

desultory1581

huff-puff1582

unstaid1586

vagrant1586

changeful1590

floating1594

Protean1594

unstayed1594

swimming1596

anchorless1597

mobilec1600

ticklish1601

catching1603

labile1603

unrooted1604

quicksilvered1605

versatile1605

insubstantial1607

uncertain1609

brandling1611

rootless1611

squeasy1611

wind-changinga1616

insolid1618

ambulatory1625

versatilous1629

plastic1633

desultorious1637

unbottomed1641

fluid1642

fluent1648

yea-and-nay1648

versipellous1650

flexile1651

uncentred1652

variating1653

chequered1656

slideable1662

transchangeative1662

weathercock-like1663

flicketing1674

fluxa1677

lapsable1678

wanton1681

veering1684

upon the weathercock1702

contingent1703

unsettled?1726

fermentable1731

afloat1757

brickle1768

wavy1795

vagarious1798

unsettled1803

fitful1810

metamorphosical1811

undulating1815

tittupya1817

titubant1817

mutative1818

papier mâché1818

teetotum1819

vacillating1822

capricious1823

sensitive1828

quicksilvery1829

unengrafted1829

fluxionala1834

proteiform1833

liquid1835

tottlish1835

kaleidoscopic1846

versative1846

kaleidoscopical1858

tottery1861

choppy1865

variative1874

variational1879

wimbly-wambly1881

fluctuable1882

shifty1882

giveable1884

shifty1884

tippy1886

mutatory1890

upsettable1890

rocky1897

undulatory1897

streaky1898

tottly1905

tipply1906

up and down1907

inertialess1927

sometimey1946

rise-and-fall1950

switchable1961

the mind > will > decision > irresolution or vacillation > inconstancy > [adjective]

unfastc888

unstathelfasteOE

unsteadfasta1200

fleeting?c1225

changeablea1275

ficklea1275

unstablec1290

waveringc1315

flickerc1325

loose in the haftc1325

motleyc1380

unsadc1384

variablea1387

variantc1386

ticklec1400

inconstant1402

flitting1413

brittle1420

plianta1425

mutablec1425

shittle1440

shittle-witted1448

moonishc1450

unconstant1483

unfirm1483

varying?a1500

pliablea1513

fluctuant1575

changeling1577

shittle-headed1580

cheverel1583

off and on1583

chameleon-like1589

changeful1590

limber1602

unsteady1604

ticklish1606

skittish1609

startling1619

labile1623

uncertaina1625

cheverelized1625

remuant1625

fluctuate1631

fluctuary1632

various1636

contrarious1643

epileptical1646

fluxilea1654

shittle-braineda1655

multivolent1656

totter-headed1662

on and off1668

self-inconsistent1678

weathercocka1680

whifflinga1680

versatile1682

veering1684

fast and loose1697

inconsistent1709

insteadfast1728

unfixing1810

unsteadied1814

chameleonic1821

labefact1874

ballastless1884

weathercocky1886

whiffle-minded1902

1577 M. Hanmer tr. Socrates Scholasticus i, in Aunc. Eccl. Hist. 218 They agayne chaunged them selues like vnto the chaungling & diuerously bespotted beaste Chamæleon.

?1583 R. Robinson tr. Urbanus Regius Homelye sig. C.vi^v He is an enimy such and so great,..so craftie, so wylie, so changling.

1646 R. Boyle Let. 20 Feb. in T. Birch Life (1744) 69 Some are so studiously changling in that particular, they esteeem an opinion a diurnal, after a day or two scarce worth the keeping.

1691 D. Defoe New Discov. Old Intreague Introd. ii. 4 Crouds of Thoughtless Mob with Changeling Praise.

1702 N. Rowe Tamerlane i. ii. 19 Curse on that Changeling Deity of Fools!

1798 W. Dunlap Andre i. 17 One, whom fickle Fortune, In her changeling mood, hath hurl'd, unpitying, From her topmost height to lowest misery.

1827 Methodist Mag. June 239 The great and the mighty may..listen with delighted ear to the timid and fickle praises of a changeling world.

1873 J. B. L. Warren Searching Net 73 A changeling god unstable as the sand.

1922 E. V. Odle Hist. Alfred Rudd xv. 263 Would she consider herself insulted by so visible a sign of his changeling heart?

1998 S. Strange in Amer. Poetry Rev. Mar. 43/2 In the changeling air of morning They are silhouettes.

Compounds

General attributive and appositive (chiefly in senses A. 1a, A. 3).

ΚΠ

?1548 A. Gilby Answer Deuillish Detection S. Gardiner f. cxxiiii^v Suche a new chaunglynge churche as shal not be founde agayn throughout the worlde.

1552 R. Huloet Abcedarium Anglico Latinum Chaungelyng [printed Chauugelyng] chyldren, Lamiæ, rum, pueri subdititij.

1600 W. Shakespeare Midsummer Night's Dream ii. i. 120 I doe but begge a little Changeling boy, To be my Henchman.

1653 J. Bulwer Anthropometamorphosis (rev. ed.) xxiv. 528 Of Changling Infants, needs not much be questioned, for that sometimes some such thing is done, is not by his power, but by the permission of God for the sins of men.

1862 T. C. Croker Fairy Legends & Trad. S. Irel. (new ed.) 38 (note) A strong similarity in the traits of changeling character.

1895 A. Lang in Illustr. London News 25 May 651/1 While in the case of infants the fairies used to leave a changeling brat behind, they did not do so when they stole grown-up people.

1924 San Antonion (Texas) Express 12 Oct. 2 b/1 Black memories of changeling tales rushed into her brain.

1949 Funk's Standard Dict. Folklore I. 253/2 Corrigan..is fond of pretty human children, and usually gets the blame for all changeling substitutions.

2005 M. Cunningham Specimen Days (2006) 35 The changeling child, goblin-faced, with frail heart and mismatched eyes.

This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2017; most recently modified version published online March 2022).

单词	changeling
释义	changelingn.adj. Brit. /ˈtʃeɪn(d)ʒlɪŋ/, U.S. /ˈtʃeɪndʒlɪŋ/ Forms: see change v. and -ling suffix¹. Origin: Formed within English, by derivation. Etymons: change v., -ling suffix¹. Etymology: < change v. + -ling suffix¹. A. n. I. Someone or something that has been substituted for another. 1. a. A child secretly substituted for another in infancy; a child supposedly left by fairies in exchange for one stolen.Often used to refer to a child who is considered undesirable, or who does not resemble his or her family.In quot. 1600: a child stolen by fairies. ΘΚΠ the world > the supernatural > supernatural being > fairy or elf > [noun] > changeling changeling1584 ouphea1616 aufe1621 oaf1638 killcrop1652 1534 N. Udall Floures for Latine Spekynge gathered oute of Terence f. 196^v Subditum se suspicatur. He mystrusteth hym selfe that he was some chaungelynge. Subditum .i. subdititium uel suppositum. Suppositus, ta, tum, a chaungelynge, or a chylde, that was chaunged in the cradle, and layde there for the very trewe chylde. 1584 R. Scot Discouerie Witchcraft vii. xv. 153 They haue so fraied vs with..elues, hags,..changlings, Incubus, Robin good fellowe..and such other bugs, that we are afraid of our owne shadowes. 1600 W. Shakespeare Midsummer Night's Dream ii. i. 23 She, as her attendant, hath..so sweete a changeling . View more context for this quotation 1664 H. More Modest Enq. Myst. Iniquity viii. 24 To steal a Prince out of his cradle, and leave a Changeling in the room. 1727 J. Gay Fables I. iii. 10 Your precious babe is hence convey'd, And in the place a changeling laid. 1763 M. Minifie & S. Gunning Hist. Lady Frances & Lady Caroline III. 198 Such a mother as yourself, who had never seen your own, but once from its birth, would not discern the changling. 1840 W. H. Ainsworth Tower of London 370 Yes! I am a changeling. 1861 H. B. Stowe Pearl of Orr's Island (1862) xx. 202 The temperaments of children are often as oddly unsuited to parents as if capricious fairies had been filling cradles with changelings. 1938 E. Goudge Towers in Mist (1998) ii. 33 So naughty was Diccon that the frightful idea had been expressed by Great-Aunt that he was in reality no child of theirs but a changeling. 2005 N. Brooks My Name is Denise Forrester 135 Picking this changeling up, touching it, maybe having it clamp onto her sore, leaky tits made her want to spew. b. figurative and in figurative contexts. ΚΠ 1587 J. Polemon 2nd Pt. Bk. Battailes Pref. sig. A.ij I..forsware mine owne child, bidding the Printer take it to himselfe, and father it on whom hee list, so he gaue it not mine name, for I would neuer acknowledge it for mine owne, but account it a changeling. 1659 J. Rogers Διαπολιτεία 36 He and others are labouring as for life to lay a Changeling (of the Jesuites begetting indeed) in the room of our present Commonwealth. ?1705 E. Hickeringill Surv. Earth 37 Fathering the Dirges, Prayers for the Dead, the Common-Prayer-Book..upon the Holy Ghost; whereas it was only the Pope's Brat, and a Changling, with which the Priest's went a begging for God's sake. 1795 T. D. Rees Iver & Hengo ii. 23 I trust he will not flinch, nor prove a changling to his father's blood. 1817 P. B. Shelley Laon & Cythna iv. i. 75 That grey tower..A changeling of man's art, nursed amid Nature's brood. 1855 T. B. Macaulay Hist. Eng. IV. 530 The small pox was always present..turning the babe into a changeling at which the mother shuddered. 1954 Poetry 85 3 Lovers are changelings, never knowing Whose lost blood pulses in their marvelous hearts. 2003 Relig. & Lit. 35 210 I alienated myself irrevocably from country and home, and believed myself a changeling of the Western Imagination. 2. More generally: a person or thing secretly or surreptitiously substituted for another; a replacement, esp. one of inferior worth or value. ΘΚΠ the world > time > change > exchange > [noun] > person or thing exchanged pricea1300 botchmenta1425 changinga1425 exchange1490 tit for tat1546 changeling?1548 some and some1573 tip for tap1573 quid pro quo1816 ?1548 A. Gilby Answer Deuillish Detection S. Gardiner Prol. f. viii The popishe Idole, the dombe God, and poetical chaungling, wherby..the true liuinge God is neglected. 1576 W. Lambarde Perambulation of Kent 105 King Canutus gaue..to Christes church in Canterbury, Sainct Bartholmews arme (if happely it were not a chaungeling: for Kings & great men were oftentymes after that sort deluded). 1640 Bp. J. Hall Episcopacie ii. xx. 204 It is not St. Ambrose..but a changling in his clothes. 1678 R. Cudworth True Intellect. Syst. Universe i. 54 The undermining and subversion of all Morality, by substituting something like it in the Room of it, that is a mere Counterfeit and Changeling. 1830 W. Scott Lett. Demonol. & Witchcraft vi. 175 Who live as changelings ever since, For love of your domains. 1895 Philatelic Jrnl. Amer. Jan. 22/2 Will those who say it is impossible for the American Bank Note Company to have made errors of color, claim these are changelings or trial sheets? 1937 Musical Times 78 1068/2 It may be that with greater familiarity this end will grow more convincing, but on a first hearing it seemed to be a changeling, not the real end for this beautiful work. 2001 T. Courtenay Dear Tom 70 I must have gloried in my mac too much that morning, and some jealous child had done a swap. I immediately took the changeling to Miss Davis and explained that it had been hung in place of my new one. 3. An extremely stupid or foolish person; an idiot, an imbecile. Now historical.Probably with reference to the idea that children with undesirable physical or mental characteristics were changelings in sense A. 1a.In quot. 1577: a person maddened or made foolish with rage. ΘΚΠ the world > health and disease > mental health > mental illness > mental deficiency > [noun] > person congeonc1285 idiota1400 foola1425 natural foolc1450 natural idiot1497 natural1533 changeling1577 weakling1577 mooncalf1586 slimslack1600 aufe1621 oaf1638 weak-wit1656 underwit1682 imbecile1830 ament1871 unfortunate1881 balmy1903 subnormal1905 deficient1906 retard1909 retardate1912 retarded1912 mopoke1946 retardee1956 mong1980 1577 R. Stanyhurst Treat. Descr. Irelande iii. f. 14/1, in R. Holinshed Chron. I Some other woulde enkendle the like fire a freshe, and so consequently dishonest their wyfes, and make their husbands to become changelinges, as being turnde from sober moode to be hornewood. 1612 W. Attersoll Comm. Epist. to Philemon 127 If they [sc. children] do not prosper and proceede, we commonly call them and account them Vrchins and Changelings. 1622 J. Rawlins Famous Recoverie Ship of Bristoll sig. C2 They also obserue Lunaticks and changelings, and the Coniurer writeth downe their sayings in a booke. 1667 S. Pepys Diary 28 Dec. (1974) VIII. 594 To think how ill she doth any serious part..just like a fool or changeling. 1784 New Spectator No. 22. 1/1 Those only are changelings or naturals, who have no innate ideas. 1810 G. Crabbe Borough xviii. 228 A harmless idiot we behold, Who hoards up silver shells..To buy a seat, and reign the Borough's mayor: Alas!—who could th' ambitious changeling tell, That what he sought our rulers dar'd to sell? 1845 in H. Rogers Ess. (1850) I. 111 The giant becomes a dwarf—the genius a helpless changeling. 1911 J. W. McSpadden Opera Synopses 203 Nial, the half-witted changeling, and Enya, watch the battle with the Romans at the walls of the town. 2008 P. McDonagh Idiocy iii. 59 For Locke, idiots or changelings pose problems because they are apparently human yet are also without the rational faculties that he uses to define humanity. †4. A figure of speech in which two elements of a proposition are reversed or given in a contradictory order; = hypallage n. Obsolete. rare.Apparently only attested in G. Puttenham. ΘΚΠ society > leisure > the arts > literature > style of language or writing > figure of speech > figures of structure or thought > [noun] > inversion > transposition of functions in sentence changeling1589 hypallage1589 underchange1589 1589 G. Puttenham Arte Eng. Poesie iii. xv. 143 Hipallage, or the Changeling..as, he that should say, for tell me troth and lie not, lie me troth and tell not. II. A changeable person. 5. A person likely to change attitude or allegiance; a fickle or inconstant person; a turncoat. Also figurative. Now somewhat archaic. ΘΚΠ the mind > will > decision > irresolution or vacillation > inconstancy > [noun] > inconstant person or thing > inconstant person starter1519 changeling1539 flirt1577 Protean1598 weathercock1598 changerc1600 mooncalf1607 minute jacka1616 a nose of wax1821 sugar stick1825 wax-nosea1843 in-and-outer1905 brainstormer1907 the mind > will > decision > irresolution or vacillation > reversal of or forsaking one's will or purpose > [noun] > desertion of one's party or principles > one who renay1340 apostate1362 renegatec1450 starter1519 reniant1532 changeling1539 rannigala1560 recreant1570 turncoat1570 renegado1573 start-away1574 off-faller?1575 start-back1579 departer1586 reneger1597 retrospicientc1600 runagadea1604 renegade1611 turn-tail1621 runagado1623 trip-coata1625 retrogredient1650 retrograde1651 tergiversator1716 rat1755 ratter1819 tergiversant1833 blackleg1844 strike-breaker1904 faller-out1964 1539 R. Morison Exhort. to styrre All Eng. Men (new ed.) sig. Dii We become chaungelynges, and for a tryfle leaue that we haue hitherto godly folowed. 1563 J. Foxe Actes & Monuments 1157/1 I am no chaungeling, neither none wyll be. 1598 W. Shakespeare Henry IV, Pt. 1 v. i. 76 Fickle changlings and poore discontents. View more context for this quotation 1651 J. Howell S.P.Q.V. 45 Which have their being under that changeling the Moon. 1682 J. Bunyan Holy War 42 They would never be Changlings, nor forsake their Old Lord for a New. View more context for this quotation 1759 W. Robertson Hist. Scotl. I. vi. 459 Darnley was such a changeling. 1797 A. M. Bennett Beggar Girl IV. iv. 151 She thought the unhappy creature was quite reformed, but poor Rose Wilkins was no changeling. 1807 R. Wilson Jrnl. 28 June in Life Gen. Sir R. Wilson (1862) II. 286 England has nought to fear from such changelings. 1844 in J. Davis Papers (1974) II. 176 This renowned political changeling poured forth a torrent of abuse on Mr. Clay. 1910 J. H. Clifford Standard Musical Encycl. II. 434/2 This scandal to the cloth was reproached for his versatility of religious creeds, and taxed for being..an inveterate changeling. 1999 USA Today (Nexis) 9 Feb. 17 a Great works of literature are changelings, somehow altering themselves to speak anew to each generation. B. adj. Changeable, varying; inconstant, fickle. Now somewhat archaic and rare. ΘΚΠ the world > time > change > changeableness > [adjective] slidinga900 wankleeOE windyc1000 unsteadfastc1200 fleeting?c1225 loose?c1225 brotelc1315 unstablec1340 varyingc1340 variantc1374 motleyc1380 ungroundedc1380 muablea1393 passiblea1393 remuablea1393 changeablea1398 movablea1398 variablec1397 slidderya1400 ticklec1400 variantc1412 flitting1413 mutable?a1425 movingc1425 flaskisable1430 flickering1430 transmutablec1430 vertible1447 brittlea1450 ficklea1450 permutablec1450 unfirmc1450 uncertain1477 turnable1483 unsteadfast1483 vagrantc1522 inconstant1526 alterable?1531 stirringc1540 slippery1548 various1552 slid?1553 mutala1561 rolling1561 weathery1563 unconstant1568 interchangeable1574 fluctuant1575 stayless1575 transitive1575 voluble1575 changeling1577 queasy1579 desultory1581 huff-puff1582 unstaid1586 vagrant1586 changeful1590 floating1594 Protean1594 unstayed1594 swimming1596 anchorless1597 mobilec1600 ticklish1601 catching1603 labile1603 unrooted1604 quicksilvered1605 versatile1605 insubstantial1607 uncertain1609 brandling1611 rootless1611 squeasy1611 wind-changinga1616 insolid1618 ambulatory1625 versatilous1629 plastic1633 desultorious1637 unbottomed1641 fluid1642 fluent1648 yea-and-nay1648 versipellous1650 flexile1651 uncentred1652 variating1653 chequered1656 slideable1662 transchangeative1662 weathercock-like1663 flicketing1674 fluxa1677 lapsable1678 wanton1681 veering1684 upon the weathercock1702 contingent1703 unsettled?1726 fermentable1731 afloat1757 brickle1768 wavy1795 vagarious1798 unsettled1803 fitful1810 metamorphosical1811 undulating1815 tittupya1817 titubant1817 mutative1818 papier mâché1818 teetotum1819 vacillating1822 capricious1823 sensitive1828 quicksilvery1829 unengrafted1829 fluxionala1834 proteiform1833 liquid1835 tottlish1835 kaleidoscopic1846 versative1846 kaleidoscopical1858 tottery1861 choppy1865 variative1874 variational1879 wimbly-wambly1881 fluctuable1882 shifty1882 giveable1884 shifty1884 tippy1886 mutatory1890 upsettable1890 rocky1897 undulatory1897 streaky1898 tottly1905 tipply1906 up and down1907 inertialess1927 sometimey1946 rise-and-fall1950 switchable1961 the mind > will > decision > irresolution or vacillation > inconstancy > [adjective] unfastc888 unstathelfasteOE unsteadfasta1200 fleeting?c1225 changeablea1275 ficklea1275 unstablec1290 waveringc1315 flickerc1325 loose in the haftc1325 motleyc1380 unsadc1384 variablea1387 variantc1386 ticklec1400 inconstant1402 flitting1413 brittle1420 plianta1425 mutablec1425 shittle1440 shittle-witted1448 moonishc1450 unconstant1483 unfirm1483 varying?a1500 pliablea1513 fluctuant1575 changeling1577 shittle-headed1580 cheverel1583 off and on1583 chameleon-like1589 changeful1590 limber1602 unsteady1604 ticklish1606 skittish1609 startling1619 labile1623 uncertaina1625 cheverelized1625 remuant1625 fluctuate1631 fluctuary1632 various1636 contrarious1643 epileptical1646 fluxilea1654 shittle-braineda1655 multivolent1656 totter-headed1662 on and off1668 self-inconsistent1678 weathercocka1680 whifflinga1680 versatile1682 veering1684 fast and loose1697 inconsistent1709 insteadfast1728 unfixing1810 unsteadied1814 chameleonic1821 labefact1874 ballastless1884 weathercocky1886 whiffle-minded1902 1577 M. Hanmer tr. Socrates Scholasticus i, in Aunc. Eccl. Hist. 218 They agayne chaunged them selues like vnto the chaungling & diuerously bespotted beaste Chamæleon. ?1583 R. Robinson tr. Urbanus Regius Homelye sig. C.vi^v He is an enimy such and so great,..so craftie, so wylie, so changling. 1646 R. Boyle Let. 20 Feb. in T. Birch Life (1744) 69 Some are so studiously changling in that particular, they esteeem an opinion a diurnal, after a day or two scarce worth the keeping. 1691 D. Defoe New Discov. Old Intreague Introd. ii. 4 Crouds of Thoughtless Mob with Changeling Praise. 1702 N. Rowe Tamerlane i. ii. 19 Curse on that Changeling Deity of Fools! 1798 W. Dunlap Andre i. 17 One, whom fickle Fortune, In her changeling mood, hath hurl'd, unpitying, From her topmost height to lowest misery. 1827 Methodist Mag. June 239 The great and the mighty may..listen with delighted ear to the timid and fickle praises of a changeling world. 1873 J. B. L. Warren Searching Net 73 A changeling god unstable as the sand. 1922 E. V. Odle Hist. Alfred Rudd xv. 263 Would she consider herself insulted by so visible a sign of his changeling heart? 1998 S. Strange in Amer. Poetry Rev. Mar. 43/2 In the changeling air of morning They are silhouettes. Compounds General attributive and appositive (chiefly in senses A. 1a, A. 3). ΚΠ ?1548 A. Gilby Answer Deuillish Detection S. Gardiner f. cxxiiii^v Suche a new chaunglynge churche as shal not be founde agayn throughout the worlde. 1552 R. Huloet Abcedarium Anglico Latinum Chaungelyng [printed Chauugelyng] chyldren, Lamiæ, rum, pueri subdititij. 1600 W. Shakespeare Midsummer Night's Dream ii. i. 120 I doe but begge a little Changeling boy, To be my Henchman. View more context for this quotation 1653 J. Bulwer Anthropometamorphosis (rev. ed.) xxiv. 528 Of Changling Infants, needs not much be questioned, for that sometimes some such thing is done, is not by his power, but by the permission of God for the sins of men. 1862 T. C. Croker Fairy Legends & Trad. S. Irel. (new ed.) 38 (note) A strong similarity in the traits of changeling character. 1895 A. Lang in Illustr. London News 25 May 651/1 While in the case of infants the fairies used to leave a changeling brat behind, they did not do so when they stole grown-up people. 1924 San Antonion (Texas) Express 12 Oct. 2 b/1 Black memories of changeling tales rushed into her brain. 1949 Funk's Standard Dict. Folklore I. 253/2 Corrigan..is fond of pretty human children, and usually gets the blame for all changeling substitutions. 2005 M. Cunningham Specimen Days (2006) 35 The changeling child, goblin-faced, with frail heart and mismatched eyes. This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2017; most recently modified version published online March 2022). < n.adj.1534
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