orphan
English · Thesaurus
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orphan
- /ˈɔːfən/ UK
- /ˈɔɹfən/ Canada, US
- /ˈɔːɹfənt/ archaic, dialectal
Sounds like often (non-rhotic, lot–cloth split) · Rhymes with -ɔː(ɹ)fən
Where it comes from
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.
noun orphans · orphane
- A person, especially a minor, both or (rarely) one of whose parents have died. Rudolf was the bold, bad Baron of traditional melodrama. Irene was young, as pretty as a picture, fresh from a music academy in England. He was the scion of an ancient noble family; she an orphan without money or friends.
- A person, especially a minor, whose parents have permanently abandoned them.
- A young animal with no mother.
- Anything that is unsupported, as by its source, provider or caretaker, by reason of the supporter's demise or decision to abandon.
-
A single line of type, beginning a paragraph, at the bottom of a column or page.
Opposite: widow
- Any unreferenced object. An orphan isn't harmful in a language that has garbage collection, such as Java. However, reducing the number of orphans can be expected to improve code performance.
adjective orphane
- Deprived of parents (also orphaned). She is an orphan child.
- Remaining after the removal of some form of support. With its government funding curtailed, the gun registry became an orphan program.
verb orphans · orphaning · orphaned · orphan
- To deprive of parents (used almost exclusively in the passive). What do you do when you come across two orphaned polar bear cubs?
- To make unavailable, as by removing the last remaining pointer or reference to. When you removed that image tag, you orphaned the resized icon.
Thesaurus
Closest in meaning: unparented, parentless, abandoned, derelict, rare, foundling, orphanage, anonymous, fatherless, orphanages, castoff, waif, stray, castaway, outcast, ward
Translations
Every language
noun person whose (parent or) parents have died
| Español | huérfano, huérfana, huacho, huaccho, guacho, guácharo |
|---|---|
| 한국어 | 고아 goa |
| 日本語 | 孤児 koji |
| 中文 | 孤兒 /孤儿 gū'ér, 遺孤 /遗孤 yígū |
| हिन्दी | अनाथ anāth, यतीम yatīm, लावारिस lāvāris |
| Kiswahili | mfiwa, yatima, mtoto yatima |
| Português | órfão, órfã |
| Français | orphelin, orpheline |
| Deutsch | Waise, Vollwaise, Halbwaise, Waisenkind, Waisenknabe, Waisenjunge |
| Italiano | orfano, orfana |
| Ελληνικά | ορφανός orfanós, πεντάρφανος pentárfanos |
| Română | orfan, orfană |
| Русский | сирота́ sirotá, сиро́тка sirótka |
| Tiếng Việt | trẻ mồ côi, cô nhi |
| العربية | يَتِيم yatīm, يَتِيمَة yatīma |
| עברית | יָתוֹם yatóm, יְתוֹמָה yetomá |
noun single line of type at the bottom of page
| Português | órfã |
|---|---|
| Deutsch | Schusterjunge |
adj deprived of parents
| Español | expósito, guácharo, huérfano, guacho |
|---|---|
| हिन्दी | अनाथ anāth |
| Русский | сиротливый sirotlívyj |
verb deprive of parents
| Español | enechar |
|---|---|
| Português | orfanar |
| Deutsch | zur Waise machen, verwaisen |
| Ελληνικά | απορφανίζω aporfanízo |
Talk about this word "orphan." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/orphan. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. orphan. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/orphan "orphan." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/orphan.Cite this
@misc{orphan_2026,
title = {orphan},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/orphan},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
