orphan
Child without family
An orphan is a child whose parents have died.
The term sometimes applies when only one parent has died, though this use is less common.
Orphan extends metaphorically to anything abandoned or left without support: an orphan project, orphan drugs (pharmaceuticals for rare diseases that lack commercial backing).
In publishing and typesetting, an orphan is a single line of text stranded at the bottom or top of a page.
Abandoned child discovered
- wardProtected person; division
- waifAbandoned, neglected child
- abandonedLeft behind completely
- guardianProtective caretaker of another
custody · dependent · survivor · caregiver · institutionalized · parentless · motherless · fatherless
- AnnieDiminutive female name
- DickensianGrimly poor, socially unjust
- foundlingAbandoned child discovered
- waifAbandoned, neglected child
protagonist · bildungsroman · rags-to-riches · fairy-tale · Cinderella · Cosette · Heathcliff · Jane Eyre
Left behind completely
- neglectedNot given proper attention
- defenselessWithout means to resist
- helplessUnable to act independently
- unprotectedWithout safeguard or shield
at-risk · disadvantaged · destitute · forsaken · uncared-for · needy · exposed · fragile
Able to be taken in
- placementPutting somewhere specific
- guardianshipLegal care of another
- prospectiveExpected in the future
- screeningEvaluative selection process
permanency · reunification · waiting · match · custody · consent · caregiver · intake
Bereaved wife, unmarried since
- lineContinuous mark or queue
- paragraphDistinct section of text
- strandedLeft without means to leave
- isolatedSeparated from others
hanging · pagination · layout · breakover · column · text · runover
Funded endorsement arrangement
- donationVoluntary charitable gift
- philanthropyGenerous giving for others
- nonprofitOrganization serving public good
- benefactorOne who gives aid
fundraising · relief · aid · welfare · volunteer · patron · endowment · humanitarian
foundling
Abandoned child discovered
guardian · custody · dependent · survivor · caregiver · institutionalized · parentless · motherless · fatherless · bereaved
Oliver Twist
- AnnieDiminutive female name
- DickensianGrimly poor, socially unjust
- foundlingAbandoned child discovered
waif · protagonist · bildungsroman · rags-to-riches · fairy-tale · Cinderella · Cosette · Heathcliff · Jane Eyre · Mowgli
abandoned
Left behind completely
- neglectedNot given proper attention
- defenselessWithout means to resist
- helplessUnable to act independently
unprotected · at-risk · disadvantaged · destitute · forsaken · uncared-for · needy · exposed · fragile · unsupported
adoptable
Able to be taken in
- placementPutting somewhere specific
- guardianshipLegal care of another
- prospectiveExpected in the future
screening · permanency · reunification · waiting · match · custody · consent · caregiver · intake · eligible
widow
Bereaved wife, unmarried since
isolated · hanging · pagination · layout · breakover · column · text · runover
sponsorship
Funded endorsement arrangement
- donationVoluntary charitable gift
- philanthropyGenerous giving for others
- nonprofitOrganization serving public good
benefactor · fundraising · relief · aid · welfare · volunteer · patron · endowment · humanitarian · contribution
disinherited
Excluded from inheritance
bequest · beneficiary · probate · intestate · succession · legacy · trust · patrimony · testator · executor
- wartimerationing, war economy, war bonds, war effort, evacuations
- family dramafamily bonds, sibling rivalry, family reunion, kinship, family secret
- kinmother, father, son, daughter, brother
- social ranksking, queen, emperor, empress, noble
- David CopperfieldDavid, Janet, Canterbury, Yarmouth, London
- family lossmotherless, fatherless, parentless, abandonment, death of parent
orphanadoptee
One legally taken in
adopted child · ward · foster child · dependent · foundling
- war orphanChild parentless from conflict
- orphaned childrenYouth whose parents died
- Little Orphan AnnieRedheaded comic strip waif
- orphan heroHeroic figure without parents
- half orphanOne parent remains alive
- orphan careSupport for parentless children
orphanage, orphans, orphaned, orphanages, orphaning, orphanhood