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

Derived Forms

• ˈsonless, adjective
• ˈsonˌlike, adjective

Other Words From

• sonless adjective
• sonlike 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

In addition to the idiom beginning with son , also see favorite son ; like father, like son .

Example Sentences

Henry Aldridge & Son specialises in Titanic memorabilia, holding auctions twice a year.

From BBC

There was an obvious change in the runs he made, because now he was going around the outside of Son and dragging McGinn with him.

From BBC

I do like the way Spurs play but they could do with having Son Heung-min fit - he has missed three of their past four league games - and they have a few other injuries too.

From BBC

On Friday, 64 years later, Alan pulled down the shutter for the final time on local retail institution AE Hartley & Son.

From BBC

Three is often associated with divine trinities, such as the Father, Son and Holy Ghost in the Christian tradition, or the Maiden, Mother and Crone in Wiccan and Pagan practices.

From Salon

Related Words

• boy
• child
• descendant
• kid
• offspring