👶 Losing parents 📄 Lonely text line 💾 Unlinked files

orphaning

8.1

A single line of a paragraph left alone at the top or bottom of a page

noun
/ˈɔrfənɪŋ/

Specialized

: huérfano

Good page design avoids orphaning to make text easier to read.

Examples

The editor adjusted the layout to prevent orphaning in the final printed book.
Modern word processors include features to automatically reduce orphaning in documents.
The orphaning of lines can disrupt the flow of reading.
I noticed an orphaning at the end of the chapter.
Careful formatting can help avoid orphaning, enhancing the overall visual appeal of the page.
To improve readability, many publishers prioritize layouts that minimize orphaning in printed materials.
Designers aim to eliminate orphaning from documents to create a more seamless reading experience.

Synonyms

orphan

vsorphaning

Specialized

1 9.7

The first line of a paragraph that appears alone at the bottom of a page

includes single short fragments left alone at top or bottom of a page

Surface Forms

orphaning singular

orphanings plural

Morphology

orphaning = orphan (semi-transparent) = orphan + ing

The typographic sense extends the literal idea of something left alone, but the specialized page-layout meaning is not fully predictable from the parts alone.

Etymology

Orphaning in printing borrows the same root orphan from Greek orphanos meaning 'without parents'. A helpful way to remember this use is to picture a single line left 'alone' at the top or bottom of a page like an 'orphan', which is why designers try to avoid orphaning.