offspring

American  

[awf-spring, of-] / ˈɔfˌsprɪŋ, ˈɒf- /

noun

offsprings plural

1. children or young of a particular parent or progenitor.

2. a child or animal in relation to the parent or parents.

3. a descendant.

4. descendants collectively.

5. the product, result, or effect of something.

   the offspring of an inventive mind.

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offspring British  

/ ˈɒfˌsprɪŋ /

noun

1. the immediate descendant or descendants of a person, animal, etc; progeny

2. a product, outcome, or result

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Etymology

Origin of offspring

First recorded before 950; Middle English; Old English ofspring; see off, of ¹, spring (in the sense “to descend from”)

Explanation

Puppies are the offspring, or children, of a mamma dog. You're the offspring of your biological parents. This is basically another word for children. Baby horses, gorillas, lizards, and humans are all offspring. A woman who gives birth to quadruplets suddenly has a lot of offspring. But this word isn't limited to biological creations — you could say that a project you've been laboring over is your offspring. Albert Einstein's offspring included many groundbreaking theories, and the scientists who followed up on Einstein's ideas are considered his intellectual offspring.

Related Words

• baby
• brood
• child
• cub
• daughter
• descendant
• generation
• heir
• kid
• progeny
• pup
• son