orphan

[ awr-fuhn ]

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 ( def 3b ).

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

/ 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 Words From

• orphan·hood noun
• half-orphan noun
• un·orphaned adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of orphan¹

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of orphan¹

C15: from Late Latin orphanus, from Greek orphanos; compare Latin orbus bereaved

Example Sentences

Because they have not gone through the same extensive breeding as corn, soy, and wheat, the orphans have more untapped potential.

From Nautilus

The recent discoveries suggest that focusing on this handful of genes could accelerate the improvement of orphan crops, or even enable the de novo domestication of wild plants with crop potential.

From Nautilus

Like the Romanian orphans, these kids had lower cortisol levels than nonadopted children who had no behavioral problems.

From Science News

Each held a sample of saliva from one of the 2- and 3-year-old orphans.

From Science News For Students

This confirmed Gunnar’s previous research on Romanian orphans and international adoptees living in the United States.

From Science News For Students

He gave us a little orphan girl in a red wig belting “Tomorrow.”

From The Daily Beast

She described how “in certain circles [it] is the moral equivalent of eating a baby orphan.”

From The Daily Beast

Scribbling notes in the classroom next door is Justine, a shy 17-year-old orphan who is the only female in her class.

From The Daily Beast

Metronomic therapy is a quintessential financial orphan, Vikas Sukhatme says.

From The Daily Beast

The financial orphan problem points to a deeper issue with the way cancer drugs are developed.

From The Daily Beast

You love her, your beautiful Finnish orphan brought up in France and romantically met in London, with the adorable name?

From Project Gutenberg

She wore no denim uniform, such as Amy had mentioned on a previous occasion as being the mark of the usual “orphan.”

From Project Gutenberg

It was the home that had sheltered her orphan childhood; she had never slept a night from under its moss-grown roof.

From Project Gutenberg

George Gordon: Scotch birth, so far as can learn; left an orphan; lived mostly in London.

From Project Gutenberg

You shall not be the loser, Mrs. Martin, by the attention you may pay to this poor orphan girl.

From Project Gutenberg