orphan
(redirected from orphans)Also found in: Thesaurus, Medical, Legal, Financial, Encyclopedia.
or·phan
(ôr′fən)n.
1.
a. A child whose parents are dead.
b. A child who has been deprived of parental care and has not been adopted.
2. A young animal that has been prematurely separated from its parents or its mother.
3. One that lacks support, supervision, or care: A lack of corporate interest has made the subsidiary an orphan.
4. A technology or product that has not been developed or marketed, especially on account of being commercially unprofitable.
5. Printing A very short line of type at the bottom of a paragraph, column, or page.
adj.
1. Deprived of parents.
2. Intended for orphans: an orphan home.
3. Lacking support, supervision, or care.
4. Being a technology or product that is an orphan.
tr.v. or·phaned, or·phan·ing, or·phans
To deprive (a child or young animal) of a parent or parents.
[Middle English, from Late Latin orphanus, from Greek orphanos, orphaned; see orbh- in Indo-European roots.]
or′phan·hood′ n.
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
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, Lithography & Bookbinding) printing the first line of a paragraph separated from the rest of the paragraph by occurring at the foot of a page
vb
(tr) to deprive of one or both parents
[C15: from Late Latin orphanus, from Greek orphanos; compare Latin orbus bereaved]
Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014
or•phan
(ˈɔr fən)n.
1. a child who has lost both parents or, less commonly, one parent through death.
2. a young animal that is without its mother.
3. a person or thing that is without protective affiliation, sponsorship, etc.
4. (esp. in word processing) the first line of a paragraph when it appears alone at the bottom of a printed page. Compare widow (def. 3b).
adj. 5. bereft of parents.
6. of or for orphans.
v.t. 7. to cause to become an orphan.
[1425–75; late Middle English < Late Latin orphanus destitute, without parents < Greek orphanós bereaved; akin to Latin orbus bereaved]
or′phan•hood`, n.
Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.
orphan
Past participle: orphaned
Gerund: orphaning
| Imperative |
|---|
| orphan |
| orphan |
Collins English Verb Tables © HarperCollins Publishers 2011
ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:
Switch to new thesaurus
| Noun | 1. |  orphan - a child who has lost both parents |
| 2. | orphan - someone or something who lacks support or care or supervision | |
| 3. | orphan - the first line of a paragraph that is set as the last line of a page or column line - text consisting of a row of words written across a page or computer screen; "the letter consisted of three short lines"; "there are six lines in every stanza" | |
| 4. | orphan - a young animal without a mother | |
| Verb | 1. | orphan - deprive of parents |
Based on WordNet 3.0, Farlex clipart collection. © 2003-2012 Princeton University, Farlex Inc.
TranslationsSelect a language:
Spanish / Español
Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005
orphan
(ˈoːfən) noun a child who has lost both parents (rarely only one parent). That little girl is an orphan; (also adjective) an orphan child.huérfano
ˈorphanage (-nidʒ) noun a home for orphans. orfanato
Kernerman English Multilingual Dictionary © 2006-2013 K Dictionaries Ltd.
orphan
→ huérfanoMultilingual Translator © HarperCollins Publishers 2009
or·phan
n. huérfano-a.
English-Spanish Medical Dictionary © Farlex 2012
orphan
n huérfano -na mfEnglish-Spanish/Spanish-English Medical Dictionary Copyright © 2006 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.