For the First Time in the English Language, there is now a Word for Parents who Have Lost a Child

NEW YORK, NY — [3/18/26] — In English, there is a word for someone who loses a spouse: widow. There is a word for someone who loses their parents: orphan.

Until now, there has been no word for a parent who loses a child.

Today, that changes.

FCB Health NY, in partnership with the nonprofits Visioning Beyond Violence and Youth Alive!, has launched The Missing Word, introducing a new word to recognize one of the most devastating—and increasingly common—human experiences.

That word is OLLIPSENT (oh-LIP-sint): a parent who has lost a child.

The word was developed with linguist Chelsea Frazier and revealed first to parents whose children were killed by gun violence—the leading cause of death among children and teens in the United States.^1*

Every day in America:
• 7 young people are killed by gun violence^2†
• 2,526 youth die each year^2†

Yet until now, the parents left behind had no word to describe who they are.

“Without a word, grief can feel invisible,” said Frazier. “Naming something gives it recognition. It tells people: you exist. Your loss exists.”

Ollipsent is derived from the Greek word ellipēs. From this root word comes the English word: ellipsis (…) three dots signifying something left unsaid or missing. The “o” in the word symbolizes the ongoing cycle of love and loss. The “ent” anchors the word in identity because this word belongs to parents. 

For parents, the impact was immediate.

“I am an ollipsent,” said Marilyn Washington-Harris, whose son was killed by gun violence. “Now we have a name. Now people can see us.”

Congresswoman Lucy McBath, who lost her 17-year-old son Jordan to gun violence, described the experience:

“This kind of grief lives in your body. Parents move forward because they have to—but we never fully heal.”

The Missing Word was created not only to acknowledge grief—but to make it visible. Because recognition is the first step toward healing. And toward change.

By introducing ollipsent into public language and culture, the project aims to give grieving parents a way to identify themselves, find one another, and ensure their children—and their stories—are never erased.

Because when something has a name, it can no longer be ignored.

Learn more at themissingword.org

NAME	TITLE	COMPANY
Kathleen Nanda	Chief Creative Officer	FCB Health New York
Linda Bennett	President	FCB Health New York
Erico Braga	Global Creative Partner	FCB Health New York
Fabio Rodrigues	Executive Creative Director	FCB Health New York
Daniel Mailliard	Executive Creative Director	FCB Health New York
Lisa Lim	Creative Director	FCB Health New York
Roberto Vilhena	Creative Director	FCB Health New York
Haley Dix	Associate Creative Director	FCB Health New York
Prajakta More	Associate Creative Director	FCB Health New York
Eugenio Lima	Associate Creative Director	FCB Health New York
Pedro Ricci	Associate Creative Director	FCB Health New York
Raphael Pacheco	Editor, Motion Designer	FCB Health New York
Devon Nespica	Group Copy Supervisor	FCB Health New York
Zinnia Farrell	Senior Product Designer	FCB Health New York
Skyler Mauro	Associate Director, Product Design	FCB Health New York
Becca Binder	Group Executive Producer	Omnicom Production
John Santangelo	Director, Print Production	StudioRX
Reid Thomas	Print Production Supervisor	StudioRX
Robert Wagner	Associate Director, Business Affairs	StudioRX
Aaron Cohen	Associate Director, Technology & Development	StudioRX
Laila Mahran	Director, SEO	Solved
Chloe Johnson	SEO Supervisor	Solved
Jenny Grabowski	SEO Senior Specialist	Solved
Matt Bergin	Group Director, Editorial	FCB Health New York
Mike Benedetto	Director, Editorial	FCB Health New York
Mark Ameen	Director, Editorial	FCB Health New York
John Durazzo	Director, Project Management	FCB Health New York
Sophia Galanos	Project Management Supervisor	FCB Health New York
Greg Flores	Director, Experience Design	FCB Health New York
Zoie Babakitis	Senior UX Architect	FCB Health New York
Kira Snook	UX Architect	FCB Health New York
Annie Foster	Group Director, Social Media Strategy	FCB Health New York
Cathy DeForest	Founder & Executive Director	Visioning Beyond Violence
Diana Garcia	Program & Development Director	Visioning Beyond Violence
Gabriel Garcia	Policy & Advocacy Director	Youth Alive!
Lanisha Jones	Crisis Responder	Khadafy Washington Project
Natasha Johnson	Mental Health Counselor	Youth Alive!
Rich Harrison	CEO	Lighthouse Community Charter Schools
Chelsea Frazier	Linguist & Language Researcher
Marilyn Washington-Harris	ollipsent
Renita Joseph	ollipsent
Carmen Morales	ollipsent
Congresswoman Lucy McBath	ollipsent
Jean Paulo Lasmar	Director/Editor	Famous Who
Bryan Mendoza	Director of Photography	Famous Who
Tim Frazier	Executive Producer	Famous Who
Galileo Giglio	Executive Producer	Famous Who
Kendra Bradanini	Production Designer	Famous Who
Henrique Tanji	Composer	Bumblebeat
Lucas Sfair	Composer	Bumblebeat
Luisa Hackett	Producer	Bumblebeat
Simone de Angelis	Producer	Mol Mol
Joaquim Carriço	Producer	Mol Mol
Andre Magri	Post-Production Coordinator	Mol Mol
Daniel Mendes	Colorist	Mol Mol
Mike Boris	Music Supervisor & Producer	Jaded Melody
Celso Costa	CEO	Graphline Media Production
Daniel Kloch	Founder & Partner	Fuze Image
Fabiano de Proença	General Manager Production	Fuze Image