Definitions for orphan
ˈɔr fənor·phan

Princeton's WordNet(1.00 / 1 vote)Rate this definition:

1. orphan(noun)

   a child who has lost both parents

2. orphan(noun)

   someone or something who lacks support or care or supervision

3. orphan(noun)

   the first line of a paragraph that is set as the last line of a page or column

4. orphan(verb)

   a young animal without a mother

5. orphan(verb)

   deprive of parents

Wiktionary(1.00 / 1 vote)Rate this definition:

1. orphan(Noun)

   A person, especially a minor, both or (rarely) one of whose parents have died.

   Etymology: From orphanus, from ὀρφανός, from Hórbʰo-. Cognate with Sanskrit अर्भ, Latin orbus, Old High German erbi, arbi (German Erbe), ierfa. More at erf.

2. orphan(Noun)

   A young animal with no mother.

   Etymology: From orphanus, from ὀρφανός, from Hórbʰo-. Cognate with Sanskrit अर्भ, Latin orbus, Old High German erbi, arbi (German Erbe), ierfa. More at erf.

3. orphan(Noun)

   Anything that is unsupported, as by its source, provider or caretaker, by reason of the supporter's demise or decision to abandon.

   Etymology: From orphanus, from ὀρφανός, from Hórbʰo-. Cognate with Sanskrit अर्भ, Latin orbus, Old High German erbi, arbi (German Erbe), ierfa. More at erf.

4. orphan(Noun)

   A single line of type, beginning a paragraph, at the bottom of a column or page.

   Etymology: From orphanus, from ὀρφανός, from Hórbʰo-. Cognate with Sanskrit अर्भ, Latin orbus, Old High German erbi, arbi (German Erbe), ierfa. More at erf.

5. orphan(Noun)

   Any unreferenced abstract object.

   Etymology: From orphanus, from ὀρφανός, from Hórbʰo-. Cognate with Sanskrit अर्भ, Latin orbus, Old High German erbi, arbi (German Erbe), ierfa. More at erf.

6. orphan(Verb)

   To deprive of parents (used almost exclusively in the passive)

   What do you do when you come across two orphaned polar bear cubs?

   Etymology: From orphanus, from ὀρφανός, from Hórbʰo-. Cognate with Sanskrit अर्भ, Latin orbus, Old High German erbi, arbi (German Erbe), ierfa. More at erf.

7. orphan(Verb)

   To make unavailable, as by unlinking the last remaining pointer to.

   Etymology: From orphanus, from ὀρφανός, from Hórbʰo-. Cognate with Sanskrit अर्भ, Latin orbus, Old High German erbi, arbi (German Erbe), ierfa. More at erf.

8. orphan(Adjective)

   Deprived of parents (also orphaned).

   She is an orphan child.

   Etymology: From orphanus, from ὀρφανός, from Hórbʰo-. Cognate with Sanskrit अर्भ, Latin orbus, Old High German erbi, arbi (German Erbe), ierfa. More at erf.

9. orphan(Adjective)

   Remaining after the removal of some form of support.

   With its government funding curtailed, the gun registry became an orphan program.

   Etymology: From orphanus, from ὀρφανός, from Hórbʰo-. Cognate with Sanskrit अर्भ, Latin orbus, Old High German erbi, arbi (German Erbe), ierfa. More at erf.

Freebase(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. Orphan

   An orphan is a child permanently bereaved of or abandoned by his or her parents. In common usage, only a child who has lost both parents is called an orphan. When referring to animals, only the mother's condition is usually relevant. If she has gone, the offspring is an orphan, regardless of the father's condition. Adults can also be referred to as orphans, or adult orphans. However, survivors who reached adulthood before their parents died are normally not called orphans. It is a term generally reserved for children whose parents have died while they are too young to support themselves.

Chambers 20th Century Dictionary(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. Orphan

   or′fan, n. a child bereft of father or mother, or of both.—adj. bereft of parents.—v.t. to bereave of parents.—ns. Or′phanage, the state of being an orphan: a house for orphans; Or′phan-asy′lum; Or′phanhood, Or′phanism; Orphanot′rophy, the supporting of orphans. [Gr. orphanos, akin to L. orbus, bereaved.]

The New Hacker's Dictionary(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. orphan

   [Unix] A process whose parent has died; one inherited by init(1). Compare zombie.

How to pronounce orphan?

1. 

   Alex

   US English

   

   Daniel

   British

   

   Karen

   Australian

   

   Veena

   Indian

How to say orphan in sign language?

Numerology

1. Chaldean Numerology

   The numerical value of orphan in Chaldean Numerology is: 1

2. Pythagorean Numerology

   The numerical value of orphan in Pythagorean Numerology is: 9

Examples of orphan in a Sentence

1. Prophet Mohammed:

   The best of the houses is the house where an orphan gets love and kindness.

2. Charles Simic:

   Poetry is an orphan of silence. The words never quite equal the experience behind them.

3. John F. Kennedy, "A Thousand Days," by Arthur M. Schlesinger Jr [1965]., p289. Comment made by JFK in the aftermath of the fai:

   Victory has a thousand fathers; defeat is an orphan.

4. Kathie Lee Gifford:

   I moved here because I was dying of loneliness, here's the bad news — I'm Kathie Lee Gifford, an orphan, and an empty-nester.

5. Johnny Chaillot-Louganis:

   We felt like orphans and then Johnny was an orphan from his city and his job.

Images & Illustrations of orphan

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