Orphan Meaning
/ˈɔːfən/Definition, CEFR level B1, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
Listen pronunciation
Definition
nounA person, especially a minor, both or (rarely) one of whose parents have died.
nounA person, especially a minor, whose parents have permanently abandoned them.
Sentence Examples
The orphan wept with grief over his misfortune.
The orphan was fostered by the wealthy man.
CEFR Practice Quiz
The little ____ whose parents died was taken to a children's home.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The charity provided shelter and education for every ____ child in the war-affected region.
Word Origin & History
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.
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"Rudolf was the bold, bad Baron of traditional melodrama. Irene was young, as pretty as a picture, fresh from a music academy in England. He was the scion of an ancient noble family; she an orphan without money or friends."
— 1956, Delano Ames, chapter 9, in Crime out of Mind:
"An orphan isn't harmful in a language that has garbage collection, such as Java. However, reducing the number of orphans can be expected to improve code performance."
— 2003, David D. Riley, The Object of Data Abstraction and Structures Using Java, page 234:
Explore More B1 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
The little ____ whose parents died was taken to a children's home.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The charity provided shelter and education for every ____ child in the war-affected region.