offshoot

[awf-shoot, of-]

See more synonyms for offshoot on Thesaurus.com

noun

a branch or lateral shoot from a main stem, as of a plant.
anything conceived of as springing or proceeding from a main stock: an offshoot of a discussion.
a branch, descendant, or scion of a specific population or family.

Origin of offshoot

First recorded in 1665–75; off + shoot¹

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for offshoot

Contemporary Examples

Hamas is an offshoot of Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood, now anathema to Cairo's military regime.
Imprisonment of Canadian Activists Illustrates Egyptian Regime's Growing Repression
Jesse Rosenfeld
September 26, 2013
On the Syrian battlefield, the lines between the Brotherhood and Jabhat al-Nusra, an offshoot of al Qaeda, often are blurred.
Let It Bleed: No American Action Can Resolve the Syrian Conflict
Christopher Dickey
August 28, 2013
Hamas arose as an offshoot of the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood and the connection between the two groups are strong.
Morsi Should Visit Jerusalem
Aaron Magid
January 1, 2013
Assad hails from the Alawite sect, an offshoot of Shiite Islam that al Qaeda, a Sunni group, considers a natural enemy.
Syrian Rebel Leader Mustafa al-Sheikh Says Victory Against Assad Not in Sight
Mike Giglio
July 26, 2012
His offshoot fashion site, CocoPerez.com, garnered just 160,000 unique visitors in May, according to comScore.
Has Perez Lost His Touch?
Peter Lauria
June 23, 2010

Historical Examples

The morality was not so much an offshoot as a complement of the miracle.
John Lyly
John Dover Wilson
America, we might say, does not exist; there exists instead an offshoot of Europe.
Appearances
Goldsworthy Lowes Dickinson
A round-topped hill, generally an offshoot from a higher mountain.
The Sailor's Word-Book
William Henry Smyth
He is an offshoot of the Spanish family that ruled the Isthmus 153 after Balboa was shot.
Boy Scouts in the Canal Zone
G. Harvey Ralphson
Besides, it is clear that Mohammedanism is an offshoot of Zoroastrianism and Christianity.
Reincarnation
Th. Pascal

British Dictionary definitions for offshoot

offshoot

noun

a shoot or branch growing from the main stem of a plant
something that develops or derives from a principal source or origin

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for offshoot

n.

1670s, in figurative sense, of family trees; 1801 in general sense of "a derivative;" 1814 in literal sense, in reference to plants. From off + shoot (n.).

offshoot

Origin of .css-1fxfie5{font-size:22px;}@media (max-width:768px){.css-1fxfie5{font-size:18px;margin:0 10px 10px 0;word-break:break-all;word-wrap:break-word;-webkit-hyphens:auto;-moz-hyphens:auto;-ms-hyphens:auto;hyphens:auto;line-height:22px;}}offshoot

Examples from the Web for offshoot

Contemporary Examples

Hamas is an offshoot of Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood, now anathema to Cairo's military regime.

On the Syrian battlefield, the lines between the Brotherhood and Jabhat al-Nusra, an offshoot of al Qaeda, often are blurred.

Hamas arose as an offshoot of the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood and the connection between the two groups are strong.

Assad hails from the Alawite sect, an offshoot of Shiite Islam that al Qaeda, a Sunni group, considers a natural enemy.

His offshoot fashion site, CocoPerez.com, garnered just 160,000 unique visitors in May, according to comScore.

Historical Examples

The morality was not so much an offshoot as a complement of the miracle.

America, we might say, does not exist; there exists instead an offshoot of Europe.

A round-topped hill, generally an offshoot from a higher mountain.

He is an offshoot of the Spanish family that ruled the Isthmus 153 after Balboa was shot.

Besides, it is clear that Mohammedanism is an offshoot of Zoroastrianism and Christianity.

offshoot

Word Origin and History for offshoot

n.

Origin of offshoot