Offspring

Offspring
The offspring are strictly speaking the progeny, or young, born to a person. In a larger sense, the offspring are collectively all of the descendants, brood or family. For example, the offspring of someone with a genetic (inherited) condition such as Huntington disease are themselves at risk for the disease. "Offspring" springs from the Middle English "ofspring" which sprang from the Old English "of" meaning "from" + "springan" meaning "to spring" = to spring from.

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off·spring 'ȯf-.spriŋ n, pl offspring also offsprings the progeny of an animal or plant: YOUNG

Medical dictionary. 2011.

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  • offspring — offspring, young, progeny, issue, descendant, posterity are comparable when they mean those who follow in direct parental line. Offspring applies to those who are by birth immediately related to a parent; the term does not necessarily apply to… …   New Dictionary of Synonyms

  • offspring — I noun brood, cadet, child, children, descendants, family, heir, issue, lineage, next generation, offshoots, posterity, progenies, progeny, proles, scion, spawn, stirps, successor, younger generation associated concepts: illegitimate offspring,… …   Law dictionary

  • offspring — meaning ‘a person s or animal s child or young’ has the same form in the plural: • A person is a Jew if he or she is the offspring of a Jewish mother or has been converted to the Jewish faith J. R. Baker, 1974 • So these offspring shared in the… …   Modern English usage

  • Offspring — Off spring , n. sing. & pl. [Off + spring.] [1913 Webster] 1. The act of production; generation. [Obs.] [1913 Webster] 2. That which is produced; a child or children; a descendant or descendants, however remote from the stock. [1913 Webster] To… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • offspring — [ôf′spriŋ΄] n. pl. offspring or offsprings [ME ofspring < OE: see OFF1 & SPRING] 1. a child or animal as related to its parent 2. a descendant or descendants collectively; progeny 3. a product, outcome, or result …   English World dictionary

  • offspring — offspring. = progeny (см.). (Источник: «Англо русский толковый словарь генетических терминов». Арефьев В.А., Лисовенко Л.А., Москва: Изд во ВНИРО, 1995 г.) …   Молекулярная биология и генетика. Толковый словарь.

  • offspring — offspring. См. потомство. (Источник: «Англо русский толковый словарь генетических терминов». Арефьев В.А., Лисовенко Л.А., Москва: Изд во ВНИРО, 1995 г.) …   Молекулярная биология и генетика. Толковый словарь.

  • offspring — (n.) O.E. ofspring children or young collectively, descendants, lit. those who spring off (someone,) from off + springan to spring (see SPRING (Cf. spring) (v.)). The figurative sense is first recorded c.1600 …   Etymology dictionary

  • offspring — [n] child, children baby, bambino*, brood, chip off old block*, cub, descendant, family, generation, heir, heredity, issue, kid*, lineage, offshoot, posterity, produce, progeniture, progeny, pup*, scion, seed, spawn, succession, successor, young; …   New thesaurus

  • offspring — ► NOUN (pl. same) ▪ a person s child or children, or the young of an animal …   English terms dictionary

  • Offspring — The Offspring Cet article a pour sujet le groupe de punk rock. Pour une définition du mot « offspring », voir l’article offspring du Wiktionnaire. The Offspring …   Wikipédia en Français

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