broken home
noun
a family in which one parent is absent, usually due to divorce or desertion: children from broken homes.
Origin of broken home
First recorded in 1840–50
historical usage of broken home
The term
broken home entered English in the mid-1800s to cover the absence of one parent for any unfortunate reason, including prolonged illness, incarceration, or extreme poverty. Use of the term rose during the first half of the 20th century, peaking in the 1950s, but began to decline by the 1970s. As the stigma surrounding divorce (and even single parenthood by choice) decreased, less negative terms emerged. For example, it is preferable to use
single-parent family or
single-parent household , because these terms lack the built-in negative associations of
broken home . See
single-parent.
Words nearby broken home
broken coal,
broken consort,
broken field,
broken heart,
broken hill,
broken home,
broken ice,
broken line,
broken pediment,
broken play,
broken reed