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Orphan vs Infant - What's the difference?

orphan | infant |

As nouns the difference between orphan and infant

is that orphan is a person, especially a minor, both or (rarely) one of whose parents have died while infant is a very young human being, from birth to somewhere between six months and two years of age, needing almost constant care and/or attention.

As verbs the difference between orphan and infant

is that orphan is to deprive of parents (used almost exclusively in the passive while infant is to bear or bring forth (a child); to produce, in general.

As an adjective orphan

is deprived of parents (also {{term|orphaned}}).

orphan

English

Noun

(en noun)
  • A person, especially a , both or (rarely) one of whose parents have died.
  • * '>citation
  • A young animal with no mother.
  • (figuratively) Anything that is unsupported, as by its source, provider or caretaker, by reason of the supporter's or decision to abandon.
  • (typography) A single line of type, beginning a paragraph, at the bottom of a column or page.
  • (computing) Any unreferenced object.
  • Derived terms

    * orphanage * orphancy * orphandom * orphanhood * orphaner * orphanet * orphan initialism * orphanism * orphanity * orphanize * orphanotropism * orphanry * orphanship * orphany

    Adjective

    (-)
  • Deprived of parents (also (orphaned)).
  • She is an orphan child.
  • (by extension, figuratively) Remaining after the removal of some form of support.
  • With its government funding curtailed, the gun registry became an orphan program.

    Verb

    (en verb)
  • To deprive of parents (used almost exclusively in the passive )
  • What do you do when you come across two orphaned polar bear cubs?
  • (computing) To make unavailable, as by removing the last remaining pointer or reference to.
  • When you removed that image tag, you orphaned the resized icon.
    Removing categories orphans pages from the main category tree.

    References

    * " orphan" at OneLook® Dictionary Search .

    infant

    English

    (wikipedia infant)

    Alternative forms

    * infaunt (obsolete)

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • A very young human being, from birth to somewhere between six months and two years of age, needing almost constant care and/or attention.
  • (legal) A minor.
  • (obsolete) A noble or aristocratic youth.
  • * 1590 , (Edmund Spenser), The Faerie Queene , III.2:
  • Retourned home, the royall Infant fell / Into her former fitt [...].

    See also

    * sudden infant death syndrome * newborn * neonate

    Verb

    (en verb)
  • (obsolete) To bear or bring forth (a child); to produce, in general.
  • * Milton
  • This worthy motto, "No bishop, no king," is infanted out of the same fears.
    ----