Related Searches
Nearby Words
Synonyms

orphan

 [awr-fuhn]   Example Sentences Origin

or·phan

   [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.
a.
(especially in word processing) the first line of a paragraph when it appears alone at the bottom of a page.
b.
widow (def. 3b).
Dictionary.com Free Toolbar Dictionary.com Define Orphan Instantly. Faster Page Loads With Fewer Ads.
Ad
adjective
5.
bereft of parents.
6.
of or for orphans: an orphan home.
7.
not authorized, supported, or funded; not part of a system; isolated; abandoned: an orphan research project.
8.
lacking a commercial sponsor, an employer, etc.: orphan workers.

:10

:09

:08

:07

:06

:05

:04

:03

:02

:01

Orphan is one of our favorite verbs.
So is absquatulate. Does it mean:
to chew (food) slowly and thoroughly.
to flee; abscond:
LEARN MORE FUN, UNUSUAL VERBS WITH WORD DYNAMO...
verb (used with object)
9.
to deprive of parents or a parent through death: He was orphaned at the age of four.
10.
Informal. to deprive of commercial sponsorship, an employer, etc.: The recession has orphaned many experienced workers.
Origin:
1425–75; late Middle English (noun) < Late Latin orphanus destitute, without parents < Greek orphanós bereaved; akin to Latin orbus bereaved

Related forms
or·phan·hood, noun
half-or·phan, noun
un·or·phaned, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
Cite This Source Link To orphan
Example Sentences
  • The little, beautiful and orphan aunt of my grand father was kidnapped by armenians during that time.
  • She became an orphan and refugee of war at about age six.
  • The thought of so many orphan planets is intriguing.
EXPAND
Collins
World English Dictionary
orphan (ˈɔːfən)
 
—n
1.  a.  a child, one or (more commonly) both of whose parents are dead
 b.  (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
 
—vb
3.  (tr) to deprive of one or both parents
 
[C15: from Late Latin orphanus, from Greek orphanos; compare Latin orbus bereaved]

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
Cite This Source
Etymonline
Word Origin & History

orphan
c.1300, from L.L. orphanus "parentless child" (cf. O.Fr. orfeno, It. orfano), from Gk. orphanos "orphaned," lit. "deprived," from orphos "bereft," from PIE *orbho- "bereft of father," also "deprived of free status," from base *orbh- "to change allegiance, to pass from one status to another" (cf. Hittite
EXPAND
harb- "change allegiance," L. orbus "bereft," Skt. arbhah "weak, child," Arm. orb "orphan," O.Ir. orbe "heir," O.C.S. rabu "slave," rabota "servitude" (cf. robot), Goth. arbja, Ger. erbe, O.E. ierfa "heir," O.H.G. arabeit, Ger. Arbeit "work," O.Fris. arbed, O.E. earfoð "hardship, suffering, trouble"). The verb is attested from 1814. Orphanage "institute or home for orphans" is first attested 1865.
COLLAPSE
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
Cite This Source
Images for orphan
Partners:WordBloglinesCitysearchThe Daily BeastAsk AnswersAsk KidsLife123SendoriThesaurus
Dictionary.com, LLC. Copyright © 2012. All rights reserved.
About Privacy Policy Terms of Use API Careers Advertise with Us Contact Us Help
  • Please Login or Sign Up to use the Recent Searches feature
FAVORITES
RECENT
How many words do you know? FIND OUT