English

fosterage

From foster + -age.

A compound of foster + -age

Proto-Indo-European *peh₂- ‘to protect’

Proto-Germanic *fōstrą ‘nourishment, food’

Proto-West Germanic *fōstr

Old English fōstor ‘food, sustenance’

Middle English foster

Today it means

noun The act of fostering another's child as if it were one's own.

Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.

Etymograph / fosterage