foundling

noun

Etymology: From Middle English foundlyng, fondeyng, variants of Middle English fyndling, fyndlyng. By surface analysis, found + -ling.

1. An abandoned child, left by its parent(s), often a baby left at a convent or similar safe place.

   “foundling hospital”

   “In foundling hospitals, and among the children brought up by parish charities, the mortality is still greater than among those of the common people.”