orphanmeme
/ˈɔːfənˌmiːm/nounVerified NewA meme that circulates widely with its creator and origin context lost, quoted by people who cannot name its source.
Formats detach from their authors fast, and the image travels with no attribution and no address for thanks or complaint. Whole jokes are now parentless.
Etym. — orphan + meme — parentless content, in the lineage of "orphan works."
Novelty check: NEW · checked 2026-11-08
review evidence: wordstoreview/review-batch-3-10-media.md
Evidence log
No query log recorded.
Method: Editorial batch review — per-word exact-form web search (WebSearch/Tavily) per docs/REVIEW-criteria.md §2