fatherless family
1
3.4
- noun
- /ˈfɑːðərləs ˈfæmɪli/
:
familia sin padre
- Numerous studies show that children who grow up in fatherless families often face more psychological challenges.
- grow up in fatherless family
Examples
-
Motherless families, fatherless families.
Blog text (4) -
The United States is now the world's leader in fatherless families.
Blog text (6) -
Welfare payments increased for fatherless families.
Blog text (24) -
Once again this year, I'll be sponsoring a fatherless family in every city I bowl in.
-
Dan had seen them and had burst into tears, crying for the snail and its now fatherless family, and it had taken both their mother and father to console him.
Fiction book (1991) -
The impact of growing up in a fatherless family can affect educational achievement and social development.
-
Support programs are increasingly focused on assisting fatherless families to improve outcomes for children.
Synonyms
1
6.1
A person who grows up without a father or male parent in their life
How Stable
Surface Forms
Morphology
The phrase is transparently compositional: 'fatherless' means 'without a father' and 'family' denotes a household, so a B1 learner who knows both words can readily infer a 'family without a father'. This pattern (adjective + noun meaning the noun with the described property) is common cross-linguistically and not idiomatic, so the meaning is predictable from the parts.
Etymology
The phrase fatherless family paints a simple picture: a household described as fatherless, with the father's chair empty at the table. So, it means a family 'without a father' or where the father is not present.