When a child loses his parents, he is referred to as an orphan.
If a woman loses her husband, she is considered a widow.
But if a parent loses their child, what do we call them? Childless? Childless doesn't make much sense, as if the parents never had children to begin with.
Best Answer
I don't know of a specific word for this situation, but bereaved parents fits. To bereave means to suffer a profound loss, especially through the death of a loved one. Associating the word with "parent" will indicate the loss of a child.