scion

American  

[sahy-uhn] / ˈsaɪ ən /

noun

scions plural

1. a descendant or heir, especially of a wealthy or powerful family.

   She's a familiar face in this Wyoming town, the third-generation scion of a cattle-ranching family.

   The two men were scions of the most powerful dynasties in the world.

   Synonyms:

   progeny, offshoot, issue, child

2. Sometimes cion a shoot or twig, especially one cut for grafting or planting; a cutting.

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scion British  

/ ˈsaɪən /

noun

1. a descendant, heir, or young member of a family

2. a shoot or twig of a plant used to form a graft

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scion Scientific  

/ sī′ən /

1. A detached shoot or twig containing buds from a woody plant, used in grafting.

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• scions
  plural

Etymology

Origin of scion

First recorded in 1275–1325; Middle English: “shoot, twig,” from Old French cion, from Frankish kī- (unrecorded) + Old French -on, noun suffix; compare Old English cīnan, Old Saxon kīnan, Old High German chīnan “to sprout,” Old English cīth, Old Saxon kīth “sprout”

Explanation

Use the word scion when talking about a young member of a family that is known to be wealthy, powerful or otherwise important, such as a prince, heiress or the children of, say, the President. Scion sounds a little bit like son, which is helpful because it almost always means the son, daughter or descendant of a rich or prominent family. Its earliest examples were used to refer to the young shoots of larger, older plants. It's not surprising, then, that over the centuries its meaning has shifted to include the human offspring of certain well-established families. These days it's invariably used to talk about a person such as Prince William or, say, the late John F. Kennedy, Jr. — both of whom are or were scions of their respective families.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

scion scions

Even his working-class credentials came under attack; the scion of a well-heeled family, Platner attended boarding school and got $200,000 from his dad to buy a house.

From Slate ● Jul. 7, 2026

Instead, 43-year-old tech scion David Ellison — with help from his billionaire father, Oracle software co-founder Larry Ellison — scooped up the prize for a staggering $111 billion.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 2, 2026

Its founding team included Tesla veteran Mark Schwager and Napa Valley wine scion Carlo Mondavi, the grandson of Napa legend Robert Mondavi.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 15, 2026

Busch’s most famous public feud was with Dale Earnhardt, Jr., the scion of racing royalty and Busch’s on-track nemesis.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 23, 2026

Although Nabokov was the scion of a Russian noble family, he detested the class-bound servility ubiquitous in the land of his birth.

From "1491" by Charles C. Mann

Call them “fail-sons,” incompetent scions who, no matter how hard they try, will never be as accomplished as their rich or powerful parents.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 22, 2026

The first venture capitalists were wealthy individuals like Brown and Englishman Matthew Boulton—who subsidized James Watt’s steam engine in Great Britain—and scions of wealthy dynasties like the Rockefellers in the U.S.

From Barron's ● Jan. 28, 2026

As the richest people in the world have gone from being oil barons and communications scions to app makers and data center owners, the trappings of wealth have shifted.

From Salon ● Aug. 23, 2025

The scions of two Philippine political dynasties, Duterte and Marcos had initially competed for the presidency in the lead-up to the 2022 elections.

From BBC ● Feb. 5, 2025

Outlanders, foreigners, and freedmen were not allowed inside the Black Wall save at the invitation of those who dwelt within, scions of the Old Blood who could trace their ancestry back to Valyria itself.

From "A Dance with Dragons" by George R. R. Martin

Related Words

• heir