offshoot

[ awf-shoot, of- ]

noun

1. a branch or lateral shoot from a main stem, as of a plant.
2. anything conceived of as springing or proceeding from a main stock:

   an offshoot of a discussion.

3. a branch, descendant, or scion of a specific population or family.

offshoot

/ ˈɒfˌʃuːt /

noun

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of offshoot¹

First recorded in 1665–75; off + shoot ¹

Example Sentences

Another popular hashtag they use is “address book,” a near homonym for “homosexual” in Chinese, which has also spawned the offshoot keywords “female notebook” or “male notebook.”

From Los Angeles Times

The Pharmacy Guild is an offshoot of the International Assn. of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, which represents tens of thousands of healthcare workers.

From Los Angeles Times

Shangri-La is an offshoot of Shangri-La Entertainment, an organization started by the late philanthropist and film producer Stephen Bing.

From Los Angeles Times

India considers the decades-old global separatist movement to be a terrorist operation because of its territorial ambitions and violence committed by some of its offshoots.

From Los Angeles Times

“There’s all these offshoots of magazines that popped up in the middle of the run, so I had to do massive amounts of research to figure out how many there actually were.”

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• outgrowth
• spin-off