An orphan (from the Greek ὀρφανός) is a child permanently bereaved of or abandoned by his or her parents. In common usage, only a child (or the young of an animal) who has lost both parents is called an orphan. However, adults can also be referred to as orphans, or "adult orphans".

In certain animal species where the father typically abandons the mother and young at or prior to birth, the young will be called orphans when the mother dies regardless of the condition of the father.

Contents

• 1 Definitions
• 2 Populations
• 3 Notable orphans
• 4 History
• 5 In literature
• 6 In religious texts
• 7 See also
• 8 References
• 9 Bibliography
  • 9.1 United States

Noun

orphan (plural orphans)

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

Derived terms Terms derived from "orphan"

• orphanage
• orphancy
• orphandom
• orphanhood
• orphaner

• orphanet
• orphan initialism
• orphanism
• orphanity
• orphanize
• orphanotropism

• orphanry
• orphanship
• orphany

Matching Results for Orphan:

Little Orphan Annie
Little Orphan Annie is a comic strip by Harold Gray that ran from 1924 to 1968. ... You should also check this article's talk page to see if the person who added ...

An American Tail
Orphan #1, Orphan #3: [mockingly] He's looking for his family! ... Orphan #2: At least you know who they are. Orphan #1: Why are you looking for them? They ...

Annie (musical)
Miss Hannigan: Why any kid would wanna be an orphan is beyond me. ... (Grace Farrell has come to present Oliver Warbucks' proposal for an orphan) ...

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