orphan

US /ˈɔɹfən/ UK /ˈɔːfən/ See IPA manual

Freq #5915

Meanings

1

noun
A child whose parents have both died.

The charity builds homes for orphans in the region.
2

verb
To cause a child to lose their parents (usually used in the passive).

Thousands of children were orphaned by the war.
3

adj
Having lost one's parents; left without parents.

They adopted an orphan child from overseas.

Thesaurus

Word family

Forms orphanedorphaningorphans

Derived forms deorphanizedhalf-orphannonorphanorphanageorphanariumorphancyorphandomorphanerorphanetorphanhoodorphanishorphanism

Late Middle English, from Late Latin orphanus, from Ancient Greek ὀρφανός (orphanós, “without parents, fatherless”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₃órbʰos. PIE word *h₃órbʰos Cognate with Sanskrit अर्भ (árbha), Latin orbus (“orphaned”), Old High German erbi, arbi (German Erbe (“heir”)), Old English ierfa (“heir”). More at erf.

*h₃erbʰ- Proto-Indo-European orphanus la-lat ὀρφανός Ancient Greek *h₃órbʰos Proto-Indo-European

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# orphan

**Type:** Word
**Level:** A2
**Part of speech:** noun, verb, adj
**IPA (US):** /ˈɔɹfən/
**IPA (UK):** /ˈɔːfən/
**Frequency rank:** 5915

## Meanings
1. A child whose parents have both died.
2. To cause a child to lose their parents (usually used in the passive).
3. Having lost one's parents; left without parents.

## Examples
- The charity builds homes for orphans in the region.
- Thousands of children were orphaned by the war.
- They adopted an orphan child from overseas.

## Derived Forms
- deorphanized
- half-orphan
- nonorphan
- orphanage
- orphanarium
- orphancy
- orphandom
- orphaner
- orphanet
- orphanhood
- orphanish
- orphanism

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: *h₃erbʰ-
- Root: orphanus
- Root: ὀρφανός
- Root: *h₃órbʰos

## Etymology
Late Middle English, from Late Latin orphanus, from Ancient Greek ὀρφανός (orphanós, “without parents, fatherless”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₃órbʰos. PIE word *h₃órbʰos Cognate with Sanskrit अर्भ (árbha), Latin orbus (“orphaned”), Old High German erbi, arbi (German Erbe (“heir”)), Old English ierfa (“heir”). More at erf.

## AI Etymology
Orphan late Middle English, from Late Latin orphanus, from Ancient Greek ὀρφανός (orphanós, “without parents, fatherless”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₃órbʰos. PIE word h₃órbʰos Cognate with Sanskrit अर्भ (árbha), Latin orbus (“orphaned”), Old High German erbi, arbi (German Erbe (“heir”)), Old English ierfa (“heir”). The historical chain includes Proto-Indo-European *h₃erbʰ-, la-lat orphanus, Ancient Greek ὀρφανός, and Proto-Indo-European *h₃órbʰos. Modern senses include a child whose parents have both died and to cause a child to lose their parents (usually used in the passive). The wider word family includes derivatives such as deorphanized, half-orphan, nonorphan, orphanage, orphanarium, and orphancy.

## Topics
- Space, Position & Direction

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