orphan

About 2.05 uses per million words.

Meaning

1. noun A person, especially a minor, both or (rarely) one of whose parents have died.
2. noun A person, especially a minor, whose parents have permanently abandoned them.
3. noun A young animal with no mother.
4. noun Anything that is unsupported, as by its source, provider or caretaker, by reason of the supporter's demise or decision to abandon.
5. noun A single line of type, beginning a paragraph, at the bottom of a column or page.
6. noun Any unreferenced object.
7. adjective Deprived of parents (also orphaned).

   She is an orphan child.

8. adjective Remaining after the removal of some form of support.

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

Similar words

unparented parentless abandoned derelict rare foundling orphanage anonymous fatherless orphanages

Often followed by

asylum and children of boy girl asylums house child

Word family

orphaned orphanhood orphanhoods orphaning orphans