noun

orphan

AW-fuhn

noun

A child whose parents have both died (or, more loosely, abandoned them).

"The charity funds a school for war orphans."

Something left without the support, source, or connection it depended on.

"The project became an orphan when its funding agency shut down."

verb

To leave a child without parents, usually through death.

"The earthquake orphaned hundreds of children overnight."

How to Use Orphan

Learner’s notes

In plain EnglishA child with no living or present parents, or by extension anything left without its usual support.

Common pairings

orphan child orphaned by the war left an orphan

Word Forms

orphaned past tense, orphans plural, orphan plural, orphaned plural, orphans singular, orphan singular, orphaned singular, orphanest singular, orphanedst singular, orphaneth singular

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The charity funds a school for war _____.

Etymology

From Greek orphanós, "without parents," ultimately from a very old root shared with the Latin word for "orphaned" and the Old English word for "heir" — orphans, ironically, were once linked linguistically to inheritance.