a HackerNoon project
Original · left

Orphan

A child whose parents have died.

First in use: ancient / pre-modern
Duplicate · right

Orphan process

A computer process continuing its execution in the background after its initiating parent process has completed or terminated.

First in use: the 1970s

Orphan / Orphan / Orphan process

Loading data…
Canonical todayMeasuring…
Status—
Duplicate share · 12 mo—
Last crossover—
Colour keyGrey · original meaningGreen · duplicate meaningAmber · contested (40–60%)How colours work

Oliver Twist vs. init adoption.

Which meaning of Orphan is the original, and which one is the duplicate riding on its name? Orphan came first (ancient / pre-modern). Orphan process arrived in the 1970s. The data below shows which one owns the word now.

Wikipedia pageviews since 2015

OrphanOrphan process
English Wikipedia pageviews since July 2015 load here.

Duplicate's share of attention

Green line = duplicate's % · above 60 it owns the word · below 40 the original does

Share-of-attention line loads here.

The case for each meaning

Sourced definitions, usage stats and quotes

Original · ancient / pre-modern

Orphan

Loading the Wikipedia definition…

12-mo pageviews—
Year over year—
Peak month—
Duplicate · the 1970s

Orphan process

Loading the Wikipedia definition…

12-mo pageviews—
Year over year—
Peak month—

More duplicated terms

Programming & software