son

¹

[suhn]

noun

1. a male child or person in relation to his parents.

2. a male child or person adopted as a son; a person in the legal position of a son.

3. any male descendant.

   a son of the Aztecs.

4. a son-in-law.

5. a person related as if by ties of sonship.

6. a male person looked upon as the product or result of particular agencies, forces, influences, etc..

   a true son of the soil.

7. a familiar term of address to a man or boy from an older person, an ecclesiastic, etc.

8. the Son, the second person of the Trinity; Jesus Christ.

son-

²

1. variant of soni- before a vowel.

   sonance.

son

¹

/ sʌn /

noun

1. a male offspring; a boy or man in relation to his parents

2. a male descendant

3. (often capital) a familiar term of address for a boy or man

4. a male from a certain country, place, etc, or one closely connected with a certain environment

   a son of the circus

   a son of the manse

Son

²

/ sʌn /

noun

1. Christianity the second person of the Trinity, Jesus Christ

Other Word Forms

• sonless adjective
• sonlike adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of son¹

before 900; Middle English sone, Old English sunu; cognate with Dutch zoon, German Sohn, Old Norse sunr, sonr, Gothic sunus, Lithuanian sūnùs, Sanskrit sūnus; akin to Greek huiós

Word History and Origins

Origin of son¹

Old English sunu; related to Old Norse sunr, Gothic sunus, Old High German sunu, Lithuanian sūnus, Sanskrit sūnu

Idioms and Phrases

• favorite son
• like father, like son

Example Sentences

The couple fought publicly over custody of their sons and ultimately Federline was given sole custody of the boys.

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He remains a prince, a title assigned from birth as the son of a monarch.

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Harley's family have issued a tribute to him saying: "Our family is truly shocked and utterly heartbroken at the loss of our cherished son and devoted brother, Harley."

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You want to take your retirement planning in a new direction and allow your friend’s son, who is starting out in his career, to manage your assets.

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A mother from Oxfordshire is warning of the dangers of drugs packaged to look like sweets after her son ate an entire bag of cannabis gummies.

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Related Words

• boy 
• child 
• descendant 
• kid 
• offspring