Definitions for orphanage
ˈɔr fə nɪdʒor·phan·age

Princeton's WordNetRate this definition:3.0 / 1 vote

1. orphanage, orphanhoodnoun

   the condition of being a child without living parents

   "his early orphanage shaped his character as an adult"

2. orphanage, orphans' asylumnoun

   a public institution for the care of orphans

WiktionaryRate this definition:3.5 / 2 votes

1. orphanagenoun

   A public institution for the care and protection of orphans.

2. orphanagenoun

   Orphanhood; the state of being an orphan.

3. Etymology: Attested since the 1570s;.

Samuel Johnson's DictionaryRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. Orphanage, Orphanismnoun

   State of an orphan.

   Etymology: orphelinage, Fr. from orphan.

WikipediaRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. Orphanage

   An orphanage is a residential institution, total institution or group home, devoted to the care of orphans and children who, for various reasons, cannot be cared for by their biological families. The parents may be deceased, absent, or abusive. There may be substance abuse or mental illness in the biological home, or the parent may simply be unwilling to care for the child. The legal responsibility for the support of abandoned children differs from country to country, and within countries. Government-run orphanages have been phased out in most developed countries during the latter half of the 20th century but continue to operate in many other regions internationally. It is now generally accepted that orphanages are detrimental to the emotional wellbeing of children, and government support goes instead towards supporting the family unit. A few large international charities continue to fund orphanages, but most are still commonly founded by smaller charities and religious groups. Especially in developing countries, orphanages may prey on vulnerable families at risk of breakdown and actively recruit children to ensure continued funding. Orphanages in developing countries are rarely run by the state. However, not all orphanages that are state-run are less corrupted; the Romanian orphanages, like those in Bucharest, were founded due to the soaring population numbers catalyzed by dictator Nicolae Ceaușescu, who banned abortion and birth control and incentivized procreation in order to increase the Romanian workforce.Today's residential institutions for children, also described as congregate care, include group homes, residential child care communities, children's homes, refuges, rehabilitation centers, night shelters, and youth treatment centers.

WikidataRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. Orphanage

   An orphanage is a residential institution devoted to the care of orphans – children whose natural parents are deceased or otherwise unable or unwilling to care for them. Natural parents, and sometimes natural grandparents, are legally responsible for supporting children, but in the absence of these or other relatives willing to care for the children, they become a ward of the state, and orphanages are one way of providing for their care, housing and education. It is frequently used to describe institutions abroad, where it is a more accurate term, since the word orphan has a different definition in international adoption. Although many people presume that most children who live in orphanages are orphans, this is often not the case with four out of five children in orphanages having at least one living parent and most having some extended family. Most orphanages have been closed in Europe and North America. There remain a large number of state funded orphanages in the former Soviet Bloc but many of them are slowly being phased out in favour of direct support to vulnerable families and the development of foster care and adoption services where this is not possible. Few large international charities continue to fund orphanages; however, they are still commonly founded by smaller charities and religious groups. Some orphanages, especially in developing countries, will prey on vulnerable families at risk of breakdown and actively recruit children to ensure continued funding. Orphanages in developing countries are rarely run by the state.

Suggested ResourcesRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. orphanage

   Song lyrics by orphanage -- Explore a large variety of song lyrics performed by orphanage on the Lyrics.com website.

How to pronounce orphanage?

1. Alex

   US English

   David

   US English

   Mark

   US English

   Daniel

   British

   Libby

   British

   Mia

   British

   Karen

   Australian

   Hayley

   Australian

   Natasha

   Australian

   Veena

   Indian

   Priya

   Indian

   Neerja

   Indian

   Zira

   US English

   Oliver

   British

   Wendy

   British

   Fred

   US English

   Tessa

   South African

How to say orphanage in sign language?

Numerology

1. Chaldean Numerology

   The numerical value of orphanage in Chaldean Numerology is: 1

2. Pythagorean Numerology

   The numerical value of orphanage in Pythagorean Numerology is: 4

Examples of orphanage in a Sentence

1. Georgette Mulheir:

   They pay people called' child finders' who go out into the community and essentially put pressure on parents to give them their children, they will tell parents,' you are poor, you can't afford your child's education. Give them to the orphanage. We'll make sure they have an education, have healthcare, have opportunities that you could never give them.'.

2. Colleen Thompson:

   My daughter’s been dropped here. She’s basically abandoned, there’s no caretaker from her original orphanage. There is no one who has guardianship anywhere in this whole region [ of Lviv ]. She’s in limbo.

3. Said Thompson:

   I received a frantic message from one of [her] caretakers at the orphanage saying that there were bombs going off and they were fearful for their lives, it was beyond scary and you feel helpless. Trying to aid children from a continent away is challenging.

4. Said Thompson:

   We were able to get my daughter and 43 children from her orphanage in the Donetsk region moved the day after the war started.

5. Nyrola Elimä:

   This wasn't their way of life before, we have our home, our garden, we're living with our parents or sister... and now suddenly, someone is living in one city, their parents living in a nursing home, kids in a separate orphanage. What is going on here ?

Popularity rank by frequency of use

References

1. ^ Princeton's WordNet
   http://wordnetweb.princeton.edu/perl/webwn?s=orphanage
2. ^ Wiktionary
   https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Orphanage
3. ^ Samuel Johnson's Dictionary
   https://johnsonsdictionaryonline.com/views/search.php?term=orphanage
4. ^ Wikipedia
   https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orphanage
5. ^ Wikidata
   https://www.wikidata.org/w/index.php?search=orphanage