foster-care
UK[ˈfɒstə keə]US[ˈfɑːstər ker]
n
A system in which a child is cared for by people who are not their biological parents, usually arranged by a government or social service agency.
Morpheme Breakdown
foster
care
foster
to care for
care
protection/supervision
Etymology
The compound "foster-care" is a modern legal and social service term built from two ancient Germanic roots. "Foster" derives from the Old English verb fōstrian, meaning to nourish or rear, which is related to food and sustenance. "Care" originates from the Old English noun caru, which encompassed concepts of worry, charge, and serious attention. The literal combination, "nourishment-charge," logically evolved into the contemporary abstract meaning of a state-supervised system for providing parental nourishment and protection to children outside their biological family. This term precisely captures the dual aspects of the system: the act of nurturing (foster) and the formal responsibility or guardianship (care).
Analysis
Structure: foster (to care for) + care (protection/supervision)
- foster: From Old English fōstrian (to nourish, bring up), of Germanic origin. Functional role: Modifier, specifying the type of care.
- care: From Old English caru (sorrow, anxiety, charge), of Germanic origin. Functional role: Head noun, indicating the act or system of providing for needs.
Examples
The child was placed in foster-care after concerns about their safety at home.
She spent most of her childhood moving between different foster-care homes.
The agency works to find permanent adoptive families for children in long-term foster-care.