Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

fatherless

/fˈɑðɚləs/

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 2.61 in modern English

Syllables: fa-ther-less
IPA: /fˈɑðɚləs/

16

Scrabble Score

10

Letters

3

Syllables

8

Unique Chars

Meaning

adj

Without a (living) father.

adj

Without a known author or inventor.

Example Sentences

"“Homer’s Triple Bypass” has the potential to be the most depressing episode in the history of The Simpsons, if not television as whole. It is, after all, about a 36-year-old husband and father staring down death and the prospect of leaving his wife a young widow and his small children fatherless."

Etymology

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

Origin

Source language: Middle English

Word Breakdown

Root: faderles, fæderlēas, *fadērlausaz
Suffix: father

Inflected Forms

fatherlesse (alternative)

Derived Forms

fatherlessness

Phrases

father figure half orphan

Frequently Paired Words

father figure half orphan orphan motherless

Questions

How do you pronounce fatherless?: The recorded pronunciation is /fˈɑðɚləs/.
What does fatherless mean?: Without a (living) father.
Where does fatherless come from?: It is traced to Middle English.

How to pronounce fatherless

Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “fatherless”.
Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/fˈɑðɚləs/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “fatherless”.
Repeat and practice — Say “fatherless” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.