# orphan

> English word · Noun · IPA /ˈɔːfən/ · frequency rank #13,392

## Definitions
1. A person, especially a minor, both or (rarely) one of whose parents have died.
2. A person, especially a minor, whose parents have permanently abandoned them.
3. A young animal with no mother.
4. Anything that is unsupported, as by its source, provider or caretaker, by reason of the supporter's demise or decision to abandon.
5. A single line of type, beginning a paragraph, at the bottom of a column or page.
6. Any unreferenced object.

## Etymology
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.

## Easily confused with
- **orphaned** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/orphan-vs-orphaned)
- **Oran** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/oran-vs-orphan)
- **organ** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/organ-vs-orphan)

## Common misspellings (9)
`oprhan`, `orhpan`, `orpahn`, `orphann`, `orphhan`, `orphna`, `orpphan`, `orrphan`, `rophan`

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