orphanage

[awr-fuh-nij]

See more synonyms for orphanage on Thesaurus.com

noun

an institution for the housing and care of orphans.
the state of being an orphan; orphanhood.
Archaic. orphans collectively.

Origin of orphanage

First recorded in 1530–40; orphan + -age

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for orphanage

Contemporary Examples

By day, she cares for her children in a bombed-out milk factory that hosts her orphanage, Okutiuka.
Death Metal Angola: Heavy Metal in War-Torn Africa
Nina Strochlic
November 21, 2014
The last time Xido was at the orphanage in 2012, money was running out and there was only bread to eat for a few days.
Death Metal Angola: Heavy Metal in War-Torn Africa
Nina Strochlic
November 21, 2014
In 2012, Nicholas and Chris Grava worked at an orphanage in an impoverished area in Cape Town, South Africa.
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Jack Holmes
July 27, 2014
Three big sunflowers were lying on the still fresh imprint of a human body in the soil in the orphanage yard.
In the Killing Fields of Ukraine with Children Who Saw the MH17 Horror
Anna Nemtsova
July 20, 2014
Is she back in the orphanage where it smells like ammonia and cooked cabbage?
When An Adopted Child Won’t Attach
Tina Traster
May 2, 2014

Historical Examples

After dinner she went off to Westminster in search of the orphanage.
The Christian
Hall Caine
But I stopped long enough at the orphanage to ask about the poor baby.
Highacres
Jane Abbott
The next time she came to the hospital, Kate had much to ask her about the Orphanage.
Daybreak
Florence A. Sitwell
That home of affluence was not mine,—it was only the asylum of my first days of orphanage.
Ernest Linwood
Caroline Lee Hentz
For several years they had supported a little girl at an orphanage.
For the Sake of the School
Angela Brazil

British Dictionary definitions for orphanage

orphanage

noun

an institution for orphans and abandoned children
the state of being an orphan

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for orphanage

n.

1570s, "condition of being an orphan," from orphan (n.) + -age. Meaning "home for orphans" is from 1865 (earlier was orphan house, 1711).

orphanage

Origin of .css-1fxfie5{font-size:22px;}@media (max-width:768px){.css-1fxfie5{font-size:18px;margin:0 10px 10px 0;word-break:break-all;word-wrap:break-word;-webkit-hyphens:auto;-moz-hyphens:auto;-ms-hyphens:auto;hyphens:auto;line-height:22px;}}orphanage

Examples from the Web for orphanage

Contemporary Examples

By day, she cares for her children in a bombed-out milk factory that hosts her orphanage, Okutiuka.

The last time Xido was at the orphanage in 2012, money was running out and there was only bread to eat for a few days.

In 2012, Nicholas and Chris Grava worked at an orphanage in an impoverished area in Cape Town, South Africa.

Three big sunflowers were lying on the still fresh imprint of a human body in the soil in the orphanage yard.

Is she back in the orphanage where it smells like ammonia and cooked cabbage?

Historical Examples

After dinner she went off to Westminster in search of the orphanage.

But I stopped long enough at the orphanage to ask about the poor baby.

The next time she came to the hospital, Kate had much to ask her about the Orphanage.

That home of affluence was not mine,—it was only the asylum of my first days of orphanage.

For several years they had supported a little girl at an orphanage.

orphanage

Word Origin and History for orphanage

n.

Origin of orphanage