Definify.com

Webster 1913 Edition

Son

Son

,
Noun.
[OE.
sone
,
sune
, AS.
sunu
; akin to D.
zoon
, OS., OFries., & OHG.
sunu
, G.
sohn
, Icel.
sonr
, Sw.
son
, Dan.
sön
, Goth.
sunus
, Lith.
sunus
, Russ.
suin’
, Skr.
sūnu
(from
sū
to beget, to bear), and Gr. [GREEK] son. √293. Cf.
Sow
,
Noun.
]
1.
A male child; the male issue, or offspring, of a parent, father or mother.
Sarah conceived, and bare Abraham a
son
.
Gen. xxi. 2.
2.
A male descendant, however distant; hence, in the plural, descendants in general.
I am the
son
of the wise, the
son
of ancient kings.
Isa. xix. 11.
I am the Lord, I change not; therefore ye
sons
of Jacob are not consumed.
Mal. iii. 6.
3.
Any young male person spoken of as a child; an adopted male child; a pupil, ward, or any other young male dependent.
The child grew, and she brought him unto Pharaoh's daughter, and he became her
son
.
Ex. ii. 10.
Be plain, good
son
, and homely in thy drift.
Shakespeare
4.
A native or inhabitant of some specified place;
as,
sons
of Albion;
sons
of New England
.
5.
The produce of anything.
Earth's tall
sons
, the cedar, oak, and pine.
Blackmore.
6.
(Commonly with the def. article)
Jesus Christ, the Savior; – called the Son of God, and the Son of man.
We . . . do testify that the Father sent the
Son
to be the Savior of the world.
1 John iv. 14.
Who gave His
Son
sure all has given.
Keble.
☞ The expressions son of pride, sons of light, son of Belial, are Hebraisms, which denote persons possessing the qualitites of pride, of light, or of Belial, as children inherit the qualities of their ancestors.
Sons of the prophets
.
See School of the prophets, under
Prophet
.

Webster 1828 Edition

Son

SON

, n.
1.
A male child; the male issue of a parent, father or mother. Jacob had twelve sons. Ishmael was the son of Hagar by Abraham.
2.
A male descendant, however distant; hence in the plural, sons signifies descendants in general, a sense much used in the Scriptures. The whole human race are styled sons of Adam.
3.
The compellation of an old man to a young one, or of a confessor to his penitent; a term of affection. Eli called Samuel his son. Be plain, good son, and home;y in thy drift.
4.
A native or inhabitant of a country; as the sons of Britain. Let our country never be ashamed of her sons.
5.
The produce of any thing. Earth's tall sons, the cedar, oak and pine. [Note. The primary sense of child is produce, issue; a shoot.]
6.
One adopted into a family. Moses was the son of Pharaoh's daughter. Ex. 2.
7.
One who is converted by another's instrumentality, is called his son; also, one educated by another; as the sons of the prophets.
8.
Christ is called the Son of God, as being conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit, or in consequence of his relation to the Father.
9.
Son of pride, sons of light, son of Belial. These are Hebraisms, which denote that persons possess the qualities of pride, of light, or of Belial, as children inherit the qualities of their ancestors.

Definition 2024

Son

Son

See also: son, søn, sơn, and soon

English

Proper noun

Son

  1. (Christianity) Jesus Christ, whom Christians believe to be the son of God.

Derived terms

Anagrams

son

son

See also: Son, són, søn, and sơn

English

Alternative forms

Noun

son ‎(plural sons)

  1. One's male offspring.
    Before the birth of the man's child, he said: "I want a son, not a daughter."
  2. A male adopted person in relation to his adoption parents.
  3. A male person who has such a close relationship with an older or otherwise more authoritative person that he can be regarded as a son of the other person.
  4. A male person considered to have been significantly shaped by some external influence.
    He was a son of the mafia system.
  5. A male descendant.
    The pharaohs were believed to be sons of the Sun.
  6. A familiar address to a male person from an older or otherwise more authoritative person.
  7. (Britain, colloquial) An informal address to a friend or person of equal authority.
Synonyms
  • See also Wikisaurus:son
Antonyms
Hypernyms
Derived terms
Translations

Etymology 2

From Middle English sonen, sunen, from the noun (see above).

Verb

son ‎(third-person singular simple present sons, present participle sonning, simple past and past participle sonned)

  1. (transitive) To produce (i.e. bear, father, beget) a son.
    • 1997, Noel Polk, Outside the Southern Myth:
      I sonned a father who would not be sonned, [...]
  2. (transitive) To address (someone) as "son".
    • 2005, Jerry Flesher, Tomorrow I'll Miss You:
      “Don't 'son' me.” “I'm old enough to be your father,” he said with a dismissive wave of his hand.
    • 2014, Stuart A. McKeever, Becoming Joey Fizz:
      “Son—now's not the time, please.” “It's the perfect time—it's the best time **** time I ever had. There's not gonna be another time, so don't son me, you bastard. [...]”

Statistics

Most common English words before 1923: read · together · already · #302: son · death · works · perhaps

Anagrams

Aromanian

Etymology

From Latin sonus. Compare Daco-Romanian sun.

Noun

son n ‎(plural sonuri)

  1. sound

Related terms

Asturian

Verb

son

  1. third-person plural present indicative of ser

Azeri

Other scripts
Cyrillic сон
Roman son
Perso-Arabic سون

Noun

son ‎(definite accusative sonu, plural sonlar)

  1. end, ending

Declension

Catalan

Etymology 1

From Vulgar Latin sum, from Classical Latin suum.

Determiner

son m ‎(feminine sa, masculine plural sos, feminine plural ses)

  1. his, her, its
  2. their
  3. your (alluding to vostè or vostès)

Usage notes

The use of son and the other possessive determiners is mostly archaic in the majority of dialects, with articulated possessive pronouns (e.g. el meu) mostly being used in their stead. However, mon, ton, and son are still widely used before certain nouns referring to family members and some affective nouns, such as amic, casa, and vida. Which nouns actually find use with the possessive determiners depends greatly on the locale.

The standard masculine plural form is sos, but sons can be found in some dialects.

See also

Etymology 2

From Old Provençal, from Latin somnus, from Proto-Indo-European *swépnos.

Noun

son m ‎(plural sons)

  1. sleep

Noun

son f ‎(plural sons)

  1. sleepiness
Derived terms

Related terms

Faroese

Noun

son

  1. indefinite accusative singular of sonur

Finnish

Contraction

son

  1. Contraction of se on "it is".

French

Etymology 1

From Latin sonus.

Noun

son m ‎(plural sons)

  1. Sound.
    Le son de ce piano est agréable.‎
    The sound of this piano is nice.
Derived terms

Etymology 2

From Middle French son, from Old French son, from Vulgar Latin sum, a reduced/atonic variant of suus, suum, from Proto-Italic *sowos, from Proto-Indo-European *sewos, from *swé ‎(“self”).

Determiner

son m ‎(singular)

  1. (possessive) His, her, its (used to qualify masculine nouns and before vowel).
    Elle a perdu son chapeau.
    She lost her hat.
    Il a perdu son chapeau.
    He lost his hat.
    J'aime son amie.
    I like her/his girlfriend.
    La décision a été prise pendant son absence.
    The decision was taken in his absence.
Related terms
Possessee
Singular Plural
Masculine Feminine —
Possessor Singular First person mon ma mes
Second person ton ta tes
Third person son sa ses
Plural First person notre nos
Second person votre vos
Third person leur leurs

Etymology 3

From Latin secundus. Cognate with Catalan segó. Doublet of second.

Noun

son m ‎(plural sons)

  1. bran
    Ceci est du pain de son.
    This bread is done with bran.

Anagrams

Galician

Etymology

From Latin sonus.

Noun

son m ‎(plural sons)

  1. sound

Related terms

Verb

son

  1. first-person singular present indicative of ser
  2. third-person plural present indicative of ser

German

Pronoun

son

  1. Alternative form of so'n

Icelandic

Noun

son

  1. indefinite accusative singular of sonur

Irish

Noun

son

  1. Only used in ar son

Istriot

Verb

son

  1. first-person singular present indicative of ièsi
  2. second-person singular present indicative of ièsi
    • 1877, Antonio Ive, Canti popolari istriani: raccolti a Rovigno, volume 5, Ermanno Loescher, page 29:
      Ti son la manduleîna inzucherada.
      You are the sugared almond.

Japanese

Romanization

son

  1. rōmaji reading of そん

Ladin

Etymology 1

Alternative forms

Verb

son

  1. first-person singular present indicative of ester

Etymology 2

Alternative forms

Verb

son

  1. third-person singular present indicative of ester

Lojban

Rafsi

son

  1. rafsi of sonci.

Lower Sorbian

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): [sɔn]

Noun

son m

  1. (archaic) swan (waterfowl of genus Cygnus)

Declension

Synonyms

Middle French

Etymology

From Old French son.

Noun

son m (plural sons)

  1. sound

Descendants

Northern Sami

Pronoun

son

  1. he, she, it

Inflection

Inflection of son (irregular)
Nominative son
Genitive su
Nominative son
Genitive su
Accusative su
Illative sutnje
Locative sus
Comitative suinna
Essive sunin

See also

Personal pronouns
singular dual plural
1st person mun moai mii
2nd person don doai dii
3rd person son soai sii

Norwegian Nynorsk

Etymology

From Old Norse sonr, from Proto-Germanic *sunuz, from Proto-Indo-European *suHnús.

Noun

son m ‎(definite singular sonen, indefinite plural søner, definite plural sønene)

  1. a son
    Han hadde to søner.‎
    He had two sons.

References

Old French

Alternative forms

  • soun (Anglo-Norman)
  • sun (Anglo-Norman)

Etymology

From Vulgar Latin sum, a reduced/atonic variant of Latin suus.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /sõn/
  • Rhymes: -õn

Determiner

son m ‎(feminine sa, plural ses)

  1. his/hers/its (third-person singular possessive)

Descendants

  • Middle French: son

Old Irish

Etymology

Borrowing from Latin sonus.

Noun

son m

  1. sound

Inflection

Masculine o-stem
Singular Dual Plural
Nominative son sonL suinL
Vocative suin sonL sunu
Accusative sonN sonL sunu
Genitive suinL son sonN
Dative sunL sonaib sonaib
Initial mutations of a following adjective:
  • H = triggers aspiration
  • L = triggers lenition
  • N = triggers nasalization

References

  • “son” in Dictionary of the Irish Language, Royal Irish Academy, 1913–76.

Old Swedish

Alternative forms

Etymology

From Old Norse sonr, from Proto-Germanic *sunuz.

Noun

son m

  1. son

Declension

Descendants

Scots

Etymology

From Old English sunu ‎(“son”), from Proto-Germanic *sunuz ‎(“son”), from Proto-Indo-European *suHnús ‎(“son”), from *seu̯H- ‎(“to bear, give birth”).

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): [sɪn]

Noun

son ‎(plural sons)

  1. son, male child

Derived terms

Scottish Gaelic

Noun

son m ‎(indeclinable)

  1. sake, account
    Dèan seo air ar son.‎
    Do this for our sake.

Derived terms

Skolt Sami

Pronoun

son

  1. he, she, it (3rd person personal pronoun)

Declension

Spanish

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /son/
  • Rhymes: -on

Etymology 1

From Latin sonus.

Noun

son m ‎(plural sones)

  1. A pleasant sound, tone
  2. An Afro-Cuban musical form.
  3. A musical composition in this form.

Etymology 2

See ser

Verb

son

  1. Second-person plural (ustedes) present indicative form of ser.
  2. Third-person plural (ellos, ellas, also used with ustedes?) present indicative form of ser.

Sranan Tongo

Etymology

From Dutch zon, from Middle Dutch sonne ‎(“sun”), from Old Dutch sunna, from Proto-Germanic *sunnǭ, from Proto-Indo-European *sh₂un-, *sóh₂wl̥.

Noun

son

  1. sun

Swedish

Etymology

From Old Swedish son, sun, from Old Norse sonr, sunr from Proto-Germanic *sunuz, from Proto-Indo-European *suHnús. Masculine in Late Modern Swedish.

Pronunciation

Noun

son c

  1. son; someone's male child
  2. definite singular of so

Declension

Antonyms

Related terms

References

Turkish

Etymology

From Old Turkic soŋ, from Proto-Turkic.

Adjective

son

  1. last, final

Antonyms

Noun

son ‎(definite accusative sonu, plural sonlar)

  1. end, ending
    Mutlu sonum.‎ ― I am the happy ending. (pronunciation on the first syllable: sonum)
    Mutlu sonum‎ ― My happy ending (pronunciation on the last syllable: sonum)

Declension

possessive forms of son
benim (my) singular (tekil) plural (çoğul)
nominative (yalın) sonum sonlarım
definite accusative (belirtme) sonumu sonlarımı
dative (yönelme) sonuma sonlarıma
locative (bulunma) sonumda sonlarımda
ablative (çıkma) sonumdan sonlarımdan
genitive (tamlayan) sonumun sonlarımın
senin (your) singular (tekil) plural (çoğul)
nominative (yalın) sonun sonların
definite accusative (belirtme) sonunu sonlarını
dative (yönelme) sonuna sonlarına
locative (bulunma) sonunda sonlarında
ablative (çıkma) sonundan sonlarından
genitive (tamlayan) sonunun sonlarının
onun (her/his/its) singular (tekil) plural (çoğul)
nominative (yalın) sonu sonları
definite accusative (belirtme) sonunu sonlarını
dative (yönelme) sonuna sonlarına
locative (bulunma) sonunda sonlarında
ablative (çıkma) sonundan sonlarından
genitive (tamlayan) sonunun sonlarının
bizim (our) singular (tekil) plural (çoğul)
nominative (yalın) sonumuz sonlarımız
definite accusative (belirtme) sonumuzu sonlarımızı
dative (yönelme) sonumuza sonlarımıza
locative (bulunma) sonumuzda sonlarımızda
ablative (çıkma) sonumuzdan sonlarımızdan
genitive (tamlayan) sonumuzun sonlarımızın
sizin (your) singular (tekil) plural (çoğul)
nominative (yalın) sonunuz sonlarınız
definite accusative (belirtme) sonunuzu sonlarınızı
dative (yönelme) sonunuza sonlarınıza
locative (bulunma) sonunuzda sonlarınızda
ablative (çıkma) sonunuzdan sonlarınızdan
genitive (tamlayan) sonunuzun sonlarınızın
onların (their) singular (tekil) plural (çoğul)
nominative (yalın) sonları sonları
definite accusative (belirtme) sonlarını sonlarını
dative (yönelme) sonlarına sonlarına
locative (bulunma) sonlarında sonlarında
ablative (çıkma) sonlarından sonlarından
genitive (tamlayan) sonlarının sonlarının

Venetian

Verb

son

  1. first-person singular present indicative of èser

Vietnamese

Pronunciation

Adjective

son

  1. unshakable; firm
    Lòng son dạ sắt càng thêm
    Lòng đà trăng gió ai tìm thấy ai.

Derived terms

  • son sắt; sắt son

Noun

son

  1. lipstick

Derived terms

  • son môi
  • đỏ son

Volapük

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): [son]

Noun

son ‎(plural sons)

  1. son

Declension

Synonyms

Coordinate terms

Hypernyms

Derived terms

See also

Zhuang

Pronunciation

  • (Standard Zhuang) IPA(key): /θoːn˨˦/

Etymology

Compare Lao ສອນ ‎(sǭn), Thai สอน ‎(sawn).

Verb

son

  1. to teach

Etymology

From Middle English sonn, sone, sun, sune, from Old English sunu ‎(“son”), from Proto-Germanic *sunuz ‎(“son”), from Proto-Indo-European *suHnús ‎(“son”), from Proto-Indo-European *sewH- ‎(“to bear; give birth”). Cognate with Scots son ‎(“son”), Saterland Frisian Suun ‎(“son”), West Frisian soan ‎(“son”), Dutch zoon ‎(“son”), Afrikaans seun ‎(“son”), Low German sone, son ‎(“son”), German Sohn ‎(“son”), Danish søn ‎(“son”), Swedish son ‎(“son”), Icelandic sonur ‎(“son”), Lithuanian sūnùs ‎(“son”), Russian сын ‎(syn, “son”), Avestan [script needed] ‎(hūnuš, “son”), Sanskrit सूनु ‎(sūnú, “son”), Ancient Greek υἱύς ‎(huiús), υἱός ‎(huiós, “son”), Albanian çun ‎(“lad, boy, son”), Armenian ուստր ‎(ustr, “son”), Tocharian B soy, soṃśke ‎(“son”).

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /sʌn/
  • Rhymes: -ʌn
  • Homophone: sun

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