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The very short final line of a paragraph composed of a single word (highlighted blue) is a **runt**.

The first line of a paragraph beginning at the end of a page (highlighted green) is called an **orphan** (sometimes called a **widow**).

The last line of a paragraph continuing on to a new page (highlighted yellow) is a **widow** (sometimes called an **orphan**).

In typesetting, widows and orphans are single lines of text from a paragraph that dangle at either the beginning or end of a block of text, or form a very short final line at the end of a paragraph.^[1] When split across pages, they occur at either the head or foot of a page (or column), unaccompanied by additional lines from the same paragraph. The pairing of the two terms with their definitions has no consistent standard across the industry; some sources use the opposite meanings as others. Additionally, a runt, which varying sources also call a widow or orphan, is a very short ending to a paragraph occupying only a small portion of its own line.

Definitions

For the purposes of this article, the following meanings are given to the terms. Some sources have these reversed due to a lack of industry standardization.

Widow (sometimes called orphan)

A paragraph-ending line that falls at the beginning of the following page or column, thus separated from the rest of the text. Mnemonically, a widow is "alone at the top" (of the family tree but, in this case, of the page).

Orphan (sometimes called widow)

A paragraph-opening line that appears by itself at the bottom of a page or column, thus separated from the rest of the text. Mnemonically, an orphan is "alone at the bottom" (of the family tree but, in this case, of the page).

Runt (sometimes called widow or orphan)

A word, part of a word, or a very short line that appears by itself at the end of a paragraph. Mnemonically still "alone at the bottom", just this time at the bottom of a paragraph. Orphans of this type give the impression of too much white space between paragraphs.

Guidelines

Regarding page design and the layout of the text, the 15th edition of The Chicago Manual of Style (2003) indicates that an edited manuscript should have neither widows nor orphans, even if their elimination leaves blank space at the bottom of the page or of the column of text.^[2] The 16th edition of The Chicago Manual of Style (2011) proposes the acceptability that the layout of some pages can conclude with the first line of a new paragraph at the foot of the page.^[3]

The techniques for eliminating widows include:

Forcing a page break early, producing a shorter page;
Adjusting the leading, the space between lines of text;
Adjusting the spacing between words to produce tighter or looser paragraphs;
Adjusting the hyphenation within the paragraph;
Adjusting the margins of the page;
Subtle scaling of the page without distorting the letters;
Rewriting a portion of the paragraph;
Reduce the letter-spacing (tracking) of the words;
Adding a pull quote to the text (usual in magazines); and
Adding a floating block (figure) to the text, or resizing an existing figure.

An orphan line is more easily deleted, either by inserting a blank line or by forcing a page break to push the orphan line onto the next page, to be part of the paragraph to which the orphan belongs. Similarly, an orphan word at the end of a paragraph can be relocated by forcing one or more words from the preceding text line into the paragraph line of the orphan. In web-publishing, this is typically accomplished by concatenating the words in question with a non-breaking space and, if available, by utilizing the orphans: and widows: attributes in Cascading Style Sheets. Sometimes it can also be useful to add non-breaking spaces to the first two (or few) short words of a paragraph to avoid having a single orphaned word placed to the left or right of a picture or table, while the remainder of the text (with longer words) would only appear after the table.

Most full-feature word processors and page layout applications include an automatic paragraph setting that prevents widows and orphans; thus, an orphan is forced to the top of the next page or column; and the text line preceding a widow is forced to the next page or column. In technical writing, where a single source may be published in different formats, with the viewer's expectation of viewing content in different sizes and resolutions, the paragraph settings automatically prevent widows and orphans. Manual overrides, such as inserted empty lines or extra spaces, can cause the insertion of a white space into the middle of pages.

References

^ Robert Bringhurst, The Elements of Typographic Style, Vancouver, Hartley & Marks, 2004, p. 43-44, 3rd ed.
^ The Chicago Manual of Style, 15th ed., 2003, University of Chicago Press. 3.11 Overall appearance: "A page should not begin with the last line of a paragraph unless it is full measure and should not end with the first line of a new paragraph."
^ The Chicago Manual of Style, 16th ed., 2011, University of Chicago Press. 2.113: "A page should not begin with the last line of a paragraph unless it is full measure. (A page can, however, end with the first line of a new paragraph.)"

[1] Robert Bringhurst, The Elements of Typographic Style, Vancouver, Hartley & Marks, 2004, p. 43-44, 3rd ed.

[2] The Chicago Manual of Style, 15th ed., 2003, University of Chicago Press. 3.11 Overall appearance: "A page should not begin with the last line of a paragraph unless it is full measure and should not end with the first line of a new paragraph."

[3] The Chicago Manual of Style, 16th ed., 2011, University of Chicago Press. 2.113: "A page should not begin with the last line of a paragraph unless it is full measure. (A page can, however, end with the first line of a new paragraph.)"

[1]

[2]

[3]

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
+{{Short description|In typography, an isolated line of text starting/ending a page}}
-{{Distinguish|Masonic Widows and Orphans Home}}
-{{other uses|Widow-and-orphan stock|Widow (disambiguation)|Orphan (disambiguation)}}
+{{other uses|Masonic Widows and Orphans Home|Widow-and-orphan stock|Widow (disambiguation)|Orphan (disambiguation)}}
+[[File:Orphan-typesetting.png|thumb|The very short final line of a paragraph composed of a single word {{font color||#98d6f3|(highlighted blue)}} is a '''runt'''.<br><br>The first line of a paragraph beginning at the end of a page {{font color||#bde5b8|(highlighted green)}} is called an '''orphan''' (sometimes called a '''widow''').<br><br>The last line of a paragraph continuing on to a new page {{font color||#ffe79b|(highlighted yellow)}} is a '''widow''' (sometimes called an '''orphan''').]]
-[[File:Orphan-typesetting.png|thumb|A widowed line: the last line of a paragraph, all alone on the other side of a page break.
-<br />
-At the end of the first paragraph, the word "lorem" is an orphan in the second sense: a very short final line that, because the rest of its line is white, creates an impression of two lines of whitespace between the paragraphs.]]
-In [[typesetting]], '''widows''' and '''orphans''' are lines at the beginning or end of a paragraph which are left dangling at the top or bottom of a page or column, separated from the rest of the paragraph. (The [[Typography|typographer]]'s  terms for the top and bottom of a page or column are ''head'' and ''foot''.)
+In [[typesetting]], '''widows''' and '''orphans''' are single lines of text from a paragraph that dangle at either the beginning or end of a block of text, or form a very short final line at the end of a paragraph.<ref>Robert Bringhurst, ''The Elements of Typographic Style'', Vancouver, Hartley & Marks, 2004, p. 43-44, 3rd ed.</ref> When split across pages, they occur at either the head or foot of a page (or [[Column (typography)|column]]), unaccompanied by additional lines from the same paragraph. The pairing of the two terms with their definitions has no consistent standard across the industry; some sources use the opposite meanings as others. Additionally, a '''runt''', which varying sources also call a widow or orphan, is a very short ending to a paragraph occupying only a small portion of its own line.
 ==Definitions==
+For the purposes of this article, the following meanings are given to the terms. Some sources have these reversed due to a lack of industry standardization.
-There is some disagreement about the definitions of widow and orphan; what one source calls a widow another calls an orphan.<ref>[[Rob Carter|Carter, Rob]]. A widowed line, highlighted in yellow.</ref>{{Full|date=July 2019}}<ref>Day, Ben. [[Philip Meggs|Meggs, Philip]]. ''Typographic Design: Form and Communication''. 2nd ed. John Wiley & Sons: 1993. p. 263.</ref><ref name="chicagomanualofstyle.org">''[http://www.chicagomanualofstyle.org/15/appA_KeyTerms.html#app01-widow Chicago Manual of Style]''.</ref>{{dead link|date= July 2019}} ''[[The Chicago Manual of Style]]'' provides these definitions:<ref name="chicagomanualofstyle.org" />{{dead link|date= July 2019}}
 <blockquote>
-;Widow: A paragraph-ending line that falls at the beginning of the following page or column, thus separated from the rest of the text.  Mnemonically, a widow is "alone at the top" (of the family tree but, in this case, of the page).
+;Widow (sometimes called orphan): A paragraph-ending line that falls at the beginning of the following page or column, thus separated from the rest of the text.  Mnemonically, a widow is "alone at the top" (of the family tree but, in this case, of the page).
-;Orphan: A paragraph-opening line that appears by itself at the bottom of a page or column, thus separated from the rest of the text.  Mnemonically, an orphan is "alone at the bottom" (of the family tree but, in this case, of the page).
+;Orphan (sometimes called widow): A paragraph-opening line that appears by itself at the bottom of a page or column, thus separated from the rest of the text.  Mnemonically, an orphan is "alone at the bottom" (of the family tree but, in this case, of the page).
-: Alternately,  A word, part of a word, or very short line that appears by itself at the end of a paragraph. Mnemonically still "alone at the bottom", just this time at the bottom of a paragraph. Orphans of this type give the impression of too much white space between paragraphs.</blockquote>
+;Runt (sometimes called widow or orphan): A word, part of a word, or a very short line that appears by itself at the end of a paragraph. Mnemonically still "alone at the bottom", just this time at the bottom of a paragraph. Orphans of this type give the impression of too much white space between paragraphs.
+</blockquote>
-== Remembering the terms ==
+== Guidelines ==
+Regarding page design and the layout of the text, the 15th edition of ''[[The Chicago Manual of Style]]'' (2003) indicates that an edited [[manuscript]] should have neither widows nor orphans, even if their elimination leaves blank space at the bottom of the page or of the column of text.<ref>''The Chicago Manual of Style'', 15th ed., 2003, University of Chicago Press. 3.11 Overall appearance: "A page should not begin with the last line of a paragraph unless it is full measure and should not end with the first line of a new paragraph."</ref> The 16th edition of ''The Chicago Manual of Style'' (2011) proposes the acceptability that the layout of some pages can conclude with the first line of a new paragraph at the foot of the page.<ref>''The Chicago Manual of Style'', 16th ed., 2011, University of Chicago Press. 2.113: "A page should not begin with the last line of a paragraph unless it is full measure. (A page can, however, end with the first line of a new paragraph.)"</ref>
-A common [[mnemonic]] is "An orphan has no past; a widow has no future"<ref>Bringhurst, Robert. ''The Elements of Typographic Style''. 3rd ed. Hartley and Marks Publishers: 2004. pp. 43–44 {{ISBN|0-88179-206-3}}</ref> or "An orphan is left behind, whereas a widow must go on alone".
+The techniques for eliminating widows include:
-Another way to think is that orphaned lines appear at the "birth" (start) of paragraphs; widowed lines appear at the "death" (end) of paragraphs. "An orphan is alone from the beginning; a widow is alone at the end," or "An orphan starts alone, a widow ends alone."
-== Guidelines ==
-{{One source|section|date=June 2019}}
-Writing guides, such as the ''Chicago Manual of Style'', generally suggest that a manuscript should have no widows and orphans even if the result of avoiding them is additional space at the bottom of a page or column.<ref>''Chicago Manual of Style, 15th Edition'', 3.11 Overall appearance: "A page should not begin with the last line of a paragraph unless it is full measure and should not end with the first line of a new paragraph."</ref> However, in its 16th edition (2011) the ''Chicago Manual of Style'' suggests a new convention in which pages may end with the first line of a new paragraph.<ref>''Chicago Manual of Style, 16th Edition'', 2.113: "A page should not begin with the last line of a paragraph unless it is full measure. (A page can, however, end with the first line of a new paragraph.)"</ref>
-Some techniques for eliminating widows include:
 *Forcing a page break early, producing a shorter page;
-*Adjusting the [[leading]], the space between lines of text (although such carding or feathering is usually frowned upon);
+*Adjusting the [[leading]], the space between lines of text;
-*Adjusting the spacing between words to produce "tighter" or "looser" paragraphs;
+*Adjusting the spacing between words to produce tighter or looser paragraphs;
 *Adjusting the hyphenation within the paragraph;
-*Adjusting the page's margins;
+*Adjusting the margins of the page;
-*Subtle scaling of the page, though too much non-uniform scaling can visibly distort the letters;
+*Subtle scaling of the page without distorting the letters;
 *Rewriting a portion of the paragraph;
-*Reduce the [[letter-spacing|tracking]] of the words;
+*Reduce the [[letter-spacing]] (tracking) of the words;
-*Adding a [[pull quote]] to the text (more common for magazines); and
+*Adding a [[pull quote]] to the text (usual in magazines); and
-*Adding a [[floating block|figure]] to the text, or resizing an existing figure.
+*Adding a [[floating block]] (figure) to the text, or resizing an existing figure.
+An orphan line is more easily deleted, either by inserting a blank line or by forcing a page break to push the orphan line onto the next page, to be part of the paragraph to which the orphan belongs. Similarly, an orphan word at the end of a paragraph can be relocated by forcing one or more words from the preceding text line into the paragraph line of the orphan. In web-publishing, this is typically accomplished by concatenating the words in question with a [[non-breaking space]] and, if available, by utilizing the ''orphans:'' and ''widows:'' attributes in [[Cascading Style Sheet]]s.<!-- However, browser-support for these attributes is still almost non-existent or non-functional in 2011, whilst & nbsp ; is available since HTML 3.2. --> Sometimes it can also be useful to add non-breaking spaces to the first two (or few) short words of a paragraph to avoid having a single orphaned word placed to the left or right of a picture or table, while the remainder of the text (with longer words) would only appear after the table.
-An orphan is cured more easily, by inserting a blank line or forcing a page break to push the orphan line onto the next page to be with the rest of its paragraph. Such a cure may have to be undone if editing the text repositions the automatic page or column break.
+Most full-feature word processors and page layout applications include an automatic paragraph setting that prevents widows and orphans; thus, an orphan is forced to the top of the next page or column; and the text line preceding a widow is forced to the next page or column. In technical writing, where a single source may be published in different formats, with the viewer's expectation of viewing content in different sizes and resolutions, the paragraph settings automatically prevent widows and orphans. Manual overrides, such as inserted empty lines or extra spaces, can cause the insertion of a white space into the middle of pages.
-Similarly, a single orphaned word at the end of a paragraph can be cured by forcing one or more words from the preceding line into the orphan's line. In web-publishing, this is typically accomplished by concatenating the words in question with a [[non-breaking space]] and, if available, by utilizing the ''orphans:'' and ''widows:'' attributes in [[Cascading Style Sheet]]s.<!-- However, browser-support for these attributes is still almost non-existent or non-functional in 2011, whilst & nbsp ; is available since HTML 3.2. --> Sometimes it can also be useful to add non-breaking spaces to the first two (or few) short words of a paragraph to avoid that a single orphaned word is placed to the left or right of a picture or table, while the remainder of the text (with longer words) would only appear after the table.
-Most full-featured word processors and page layout applications include a paragraph setting (or option) to automatically prevent widows and orphans. When the option is turned on, an orphan is forced to the top of the next page or column; and the line preceding a widow is forced to the next page or column with the last line.
-In technical writing where a single source may be published in multiple formats, and now in HTML5 with the expectation of viewing content at different sizes or resolutions, it is recommended{{According to whom|date=April 2019}} to use the word processor settings that automatically prevent widows and orphans. Manual overrides such as inserted empty lines or extra spaces can cause unexpected white space in the middle of pages.
 == References ==
@@ Line 49: / Line 39: @@
 {{Typography terms}}
 [[Category:Typography]]