parentless

adj

1. (not-comparable)Having no (living) parent.

   “Firstly, then, who were these parentless children who seem to have been present in a sizeable proportion of households...”

   “No, if you wanted to free yourself of feelings you didn't want to be an Engineer. Growing up parentless on Ditch Street, though; that would really do the trick.”

2. (not-comparable)Having no parent in a data structure.

   “The top-level window is parentless and forms the root of the hierarchy.”

   “Two consequences of parentless elements complicate the rules.”