Meaning of orphan in English

Table of contents
  1. Pronunciation
  2. Verb
    1. Definitions
  3. Classifying Adjective
    1. Definitions
  4. Noun
    1. Etymology
    2. Definitions

  1. Pronunciation

    /ˈɔrfən/

    US accent Play button

    UK accent Play button

  1. Verb

    orphan

    Definitions

    1. deprive of parents

    Derived terms

  2. Classifying Adjective

    orphan

    Definitions

    1. deprived of parents by death or desertion

    Synonyms

  3. Noun

    orphan

    Etymology

    late Middle English: via late Latin from Greek orphanos‘bereaved’

    Definitions

    1. a child who has lost both parents
  4. 2. someone or something who lacks support or care or supervision
  5. 3. the first line of a paragraph that is set as the last line of a page or column
  6. 4. a young animal without a mother

Famous quotes

  • « I feel akin to the Platypus. An orphan in a family. A swimmer, a recluse. Part bird, part fish, part lizard. »
    Trevor Dunn
  • « Poetry is an orphan of silence. The words never quite equal the experience behind them. »
    Charles Simic
  • « We call that person who has lost his father, an orphan and a widower that man who has lost his wife. But that man who has known the immense unhappiness of losing a friend, by what name do we call him? Here every language is silent and holds its peace in impotence. »
    Joseph Roux
  • « Every politician should have been born an orphan and remain a bachelor. »
    Lady Bird Johnson
  • « Autobiography begins with a sense of being alone. It is an orphan form. »
    John Berger

Browse dictionary