Link Centre Dictionary

orphan

orp·han

UK/ˈɔːfən/ US/ˈɔɹfən/ fairly common
noun (4) adjective (1) verb (1)

noun

1.

a child who has lost both parents

2.
3.

the first line of a paragraph that is set as the last line of a page or column

4.

a young animal without a mother

adjective

1.

deprived of parents by death or desertion

Synonyms
Similar

verb

1.

deprive of parents

Origin

Late Middle English, from Late Latin orphanus, from Ancient Greek ὀρφανός (orphanós, “without parents, fatherless”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₃órbʰos. PIE word *h₃órbʰos Cognate with Sanskrit अर्भ (árbha), Latin orbus (“orphaned”), Old Armenian որբ (orb, “orphan”), Old High German erbi, arbi (German Erbe (“heir”)), Old English ierfa (“heir”). More at erf.

Phrases

  • double orphan
  • elder orphan
  • half orphan
  • maternal orphan
  • orphan acronym
  • orphan asylum
  • orphan disease
  • orphan drug
  • orphan off
  • orphan work
  • orphan-crushing machine

Related words

Word family

Broader terms

WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.