# fatherless

> English word · Adjective · frequency rank #46,458

## Definitions
1. Without a (living) father.
2. Without a known author or inventor.

## Etymology
From Middle English faderles, federles, from Old English fæderlēas, from Proto-Germanic *fadērlausaz, equivalent to father + -less. Cognate with German vaterlos.

## Common misspellings (14)
`aftherless`, `fahterless`, `fatehrless`, `fathelress`, `fatherelss`, `fatherles`, `fatherlless`, `fatherlses`, `fatherrless`, `fathherless`, `fathreless`, `fattherless`, `ffatherless`, `ftaherless`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/fatherless