The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 9 letter word FOUNDLING
I've seen this crossword clue in Independent
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More clues leading to the result FOUNDLING
- Neglected child needs caressing, housing of superior character
- Successfully sought fish one wants fostering
- Abandoned type petting outside university
- Moneypenny’s dumped in launch as it’s abandoned
- Baby left in establishment
- Caressing, after consuming a piece of uthappam, an abandoned child
- Orphan‘s fund log-in hacked
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The cryptic/wordplay part
In cryptic crossword there's often an wordplay/cryptic part as well.This part involves a more complex hint, such as an anagram, homophone, hidden word, etc.
Sadly, We don't have an explanation for this specific crossword clue yet.
What does FOUNDLING mean?
FOUNDLING noun- An abandoned child, left by its parent(s), often a baby left at a convent or similar safe place.