ORPHAN Definition & Meaning

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orphan

[ awr-fuhn ]

Phonetic (Standard)IPA

noun

a child who has lost both parents through death, or, less commonly, one parent.
a young animal that has been deserted by or has lost its mother.
a person or thing that is without protective affiliation, sponsorship, etc.:
The committee is an orphan of the previous administration.
Printing.
1. (especially in word processing) the first line of a paragraph when it appears alone at the bottom of a page.
2. widow ( def 3b ).

adjective

bereft of parents.
of or for orphans:
an orphan home.
not authorized, supported, or funded; not part of a system; isolated; abandoned:
an orphan research project.
lacking a commercial sponsor, an employer, etc.:
orphan workers.

verb (used with object)

to deprive of parents or a parent through death:
He was orphaned at the age of four.
Informal. to deprive of commercial sponsorship, an employer, etc.:
The recession has orphaned many experienced workers.

orphan

/ ˈɔː��ə�� /

noun

1. a child, one or (more commonly) both of whose parents are dead
2. ( as modifier )
  an orphan child
printing the first line of a paragraph separated from the rest of the paragraph by occurring at the foot of a page

verb

tr to deprive of one or both parents

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Other �y��vlog Forms

�ǰ�p�󲹲�·��Ǵǻ� noun
�󲹱��-�ǰ�p�󲹲� noun
�ܲ�·�ǰ�p�󲹲Ա�� adjective

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�y��vlog History and Origins

Origin of orphan¹

1425–75; late Middle English (noun) < Late Latin orphanus destitute, without parents < Greek �ǰ��󲹲�ó�� bereaved; akin to Latin orbus bereaved

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�y��vlog History and Origins

Origin of orphan¹

C15: from Late Latin orphanus, from Greek orphanos; compare Latin orbus bereaved

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Example Sentences

Examples have not been reviewed.

She has been orphaned along with three brothers.

From

There have been talks about programmes to help orphans of Ukrainian soldiers and cover health, housing and education needs for those fleeing the war.

From

That semi-fanciful film was a deadpan spin on the ingrained misogyny that conveniently tags a steely, orphaned 9-year-old village girl as a sorceress.

From

Removed from the community and yet an integral part of it, the Antidote is an orphaned Sicilian immigrant named Antonina Rossi who knows that “pain is never any one thing, it is always moving.”

From

A plane crash in South Korea last December left Park Guen-woo an orphan.

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