Home › Glossary › Letter O

Orphan

Printing
Pronunciation

Understanding ARPABET Pronunciation

Want to hear it? Click the Listen button to hear the browser speak the word using text-to-speech!

The pronunciation guide uses the ARPABET phonetic system—the same system used in speech recognition and text-to-speech applications.

Vowel Examples:
AE1 = cat, bat
EH1 = bed, head
IY1 = see, me
OW1 = go, boat
UW1 = boot, do
Stress Numbers:
0 = no stress (unstressed)
1 = primary stress (loud)
2 = secondary stress (medium)
Example:
AH0 TH IY1 N AH0
= a-THEE-na (Athena)

The stressed syllable (marked with 1) is pronounced louder and clearer than others.

Quick Definition

A first line of a paragraph left alone at the bottom of a page. It is usually avoided in careful page layout.

Detailed Definition
An orphan is a first line separated from the rest of its paragraph and left at the bottom of a page or column. In poetry printing, the idea extends to awkwardly isolated openings of stanzas, notes, or prose sections. Such breaks can interrupt reading and make the page look unfinished. Designers prevent orphans by revising page breaks, adjusting spacing, or moving a small amount of text. The concern reflects the printer's attention to both textual continuity and page composition.
Example
Example in poetry:
An orphan occurs when the first line of a stanza or paragraph is left alone at the bottom of a page; If the opening line of a new poem appears at the page bottom while the rest continues on the next page, it is an orphan; A designer may move an orphaned line to the following page so readers encounter the stanza together; Avoiding orphans is especially important in poems whose stanza breaks create deliberate visual patterns
Additional Notes
An orphan is an opening line stranded at the bottom of a page while the rest of its paragraph follows later. Avoiding orphans improves continuity and makes pages feel more balanced.
Also Known As
Orphan Line waif
Skip to main content