orphan; parentless child
A child who has lost both parents or has been abandoned. Slightly literary or formal; in everyday speech 孤児 (こじ) is more common.
There were many children who became orphans because of the war.
He grew up in an institution as an orphan.
みなしご (orphan) is a synonym often written in kana, with a similar nuance to 親なし子.
Standard kanji-kana mixed spelling.
Alternate spelling using the kanji 無 for 'without'.
Compound of 親 (おや, 'parent') + なし ('without') + 子 (こ, 'child'), literally 'child without parents'. The reading ご is a rendaku form of 子.