orphan

American  

[awr-fuhn] / ˈɔr fən /

noun

1. a child who has lost both parents through death, or, less commonly, one parent.

2. a young animal that has been deserted by or has lost its mother.

3. a person or thing that is without protective affiliation, sponsorship, etc..

   The committee is an orphan of the previous administration.

4. Printing.

   1. (especially in word processing) the first line of a paragraph when it appears alone at the bottom of a page.

   2. widow.

---

adjective

1. bereft of parents.

2. of or for orphans.

   an orphan home.

3. not authorized, supported, or funded; not part of a system; isolated; abandoned.

   an orphan research project.

4. lacking a commercial sponsor, an employer, etc..

   orphan workers.

verb (used with object)

1. to deprive of parents or a parent through death.

   He was orphaned at the age of four.

2. Informal. to deprive of commercial sponsorship, an employer, etc..

   The recession has orphaned many experienced workers.

orphan British  

/ ˈɔːfən /

noun

1. 1. a child, one or (more commonly) both of whose parents are dead

   2. ( as modifier )

      an orphan child

2. printing the first line of a paragraph separated from the rest of the paragraph by occurring at the foot of a page

---

verb

1. (tr) to deprive of one or both parents

Other Word Forms

• half-orphan noun
• orphanhood noun
• unorphaned adjective

Etymology

Origin of orphan

1425–75; late Middle English (noun) < Late Latin orphanus destitute, without parents < Greek orphanós bereaved; akin to Latin orbus bereaved

Example Sentences

But “A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms” is less concerned about the aristocracy than what life is like for smallfolk like Dunk, an orphan who spent his early childhood scraping by in Flea Bottom.

From Salon

And it’s incredibly unfair that Renee Good is dead, that her wife is a widow and her son an orphan.

From Salon

“You are the waif’s last relation in the world. Without you, the child is destined to a most piteous life in the orphan asylum.”

From Literature

Medical schools received hanged criminals and deceased orphans, but demand greatly outstripped supply.

From The Wall Street Journal

Saabirin was orphaned when both her parents died within a short period when she was just one year old.

From BBC