English

Noun

offspring ‎(plural offspring or offsprings)

1. A person's daughter(s) and/or son(s); a person's children.
2. All a person's descendants, including further generations.
3. An animal or plant's progeny, an animal or plant's young.
   • 2013 May-June, Katrina G. Claw, “Rapid Evolution in Eggs and Sperm”, in American Scientist, volume 101, number 3:

     In plants, the ability to recognize self from nonself plays an important role in fertilization, because self-fertilization will result in less diverse offspring than fertilization with pollen from another individual.

4. (figuratively) Another produce, result of an entity's efforts.

   Artists often treasure their works as their immortal offspring.‎

5. (computing) A process launched by another process.

Usage notes

• The form offsprings is also used for the plural, especially the computing sense.

Synonyms

• (daughter(s) and/or son(s)): baby/babies, child/children, fruit of one's loins, issue (plural only), get, kid/kids
• (all descendants): descendants, fruit of one's loins, lineage, progeny, get, binary clone, seed

Antonyms

• (daughter(s) and/or son(s)): genitor (rare), parent, progenitor, father (male), mother (female)
• (descendants): ancestors, forbears/forebears, forefathers

Derived terms

• donor offspring
• parent-offspring conflict

Translations