orphan

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ˈɔːfən/ (UK); /ˈɔɹfən/ (US)^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English orphan,^[2][3] borrowed from Late Latin orphanus (“parentless child”),^{[2][4][5][3][6]} from Ancient Greek ὀρφανός (orphanós, “bereaved, orphaned”),^{[2][4][5][3][6]} literally “deprived”.^[5] It goes back to the Proto-Indo-European root *orbh-,^[2][5] and is related to Latin orbus (“bereaved”) and Old High German erbi (“inheritance”).^[3][6][5]

Earliest recorded meaning

A child whose father or mother, or both, has died (c. 1300).^[7][4][5]

Semantic evolution

The adjective, “bereaved of parents”, and the figurative sense “one bereft of protection or advantages” both date from 1483.^[7][4][5] The verb, “to make an orphan of”, is recorded from 1814.^[7][4][5][3] In the 20th century the word was extended to things without support: a discontinued car model (1942),^[7] a virus not known to cause disease (1954),^[7] and, in printing, the first line of a paragraph left alone at the bottom of a page.^[6][1]

Timeline

• c. 1300 – a child bereaved of parents.^[7][4][5]
• 1483 – adjective; and figuratively, one bereft of protection.^[7][4]
• 1814 – verb, to make an orphan.^[7][4][5][3]
• 1942 – a discontinued car model.^[7]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. A child whose parents are dead; also, a child deprived of parental care and not adopted.
2. A young animal without a mother.
3. A person or thing without support, protection or care.
4. (printing) The first line of a paragraph appearing alone at the bottom of a page.

Adjective

1. Deprived of parents.
2. Intended for orphans, as in an orphan home.
3. Lacking support or supervision; abandoned.

Verb

1. To deprive (a child) of one or both parents.

Word family

• orphanhood
• orphanage
• orphan drug

Related words

• robot
• inherit

References

1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
3. ^ a b c d e f Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (2003), 11th ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
4. ^ a b c d e f g h Barnhart, Robert K., ed. (1995), The Barnhart Concise Dictionary of Etymology, New York: HarperCollins
5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Harper, Douglas, Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
6. ^ a b c d Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary (1999), 2nd ed., New York: Random House
7. ^ a b c d e f g h i Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press