orphan English · revision 1045

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ˈɔːfən/ ''(UK)''; /ˈɔɹfən/ ''(US)''^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|enm|orphan]],^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate) [[bor|la-lat|orphanus|t=parentless child]],^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU) [[der|grc|ὀρφανός|tr=orphanós|t=bereaved, orphaned]],^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU) literally “deprived”.^(Etymonline) It goes back to the Proto-Indo-European root ''*orbh-'',^(AHD)^(Etymonline) and is related to [[la|orbus|t=bereaved]] and [[goh|erbi|t=inheritance]].^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ A child whose father or mother, or both, has died (c. 1300).^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The adjective, “bereaved of parents”, and the figurative sense “one bereft of protection or advantages” both date from 1483.^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline) The verb, “to make an orphan of”, is recorded from 1814.^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate) In the 20th century the word was extended to things without support: a discontinued car model (1942),^(OED 1989) a virus not known to cause disease (1954),^(OED 1989) and, in printing, the first line of a paragraph left alone at the bottom of a page.^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 1300 – a child bereaved of parents.^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)

+ * 1483 – adjective; and figuratively, one bereft of protection.^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1995)

+ * 1814 – verb, to make an orphan.^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate)

+ * 1942 – a discontinued car model.^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A child whose parents are dead; also, a child deprived of parental care and not adopted.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+ # A young animal without a mother.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+ # A person or thing without support, protection or care.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+ # ''(printing)'' The first line of a paragraph appearing alone at the bottom of a page.^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ===Adjective===

+ # Deprived of parents.^(AHD)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+ # Intended for orphans, as in ''an orphan home''.^(AHD)^(RHWU)

+ # Lacking support or supervision; abandoned.^(AHD)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ===Verb===

+ # To deprive (a child) of one or both parents.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[orphanhood]]

+ * [[orphanage]]

+ * [[orphan drug]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[robot]]

+ * [[inherit]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}