offspring

English

Etymology

From Middle English ofspring, from Old English ofspring (“offspring, descendants, posterity”), equivalent to off- +‎ spring. Compare Icelandic afspringur (“offspring”). More at off, spring.

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /ˈɒfspɹɪŋ/

  • Audio (Southern England)

    (file)

• (US) IPA^(key): /ˈɔfspɹɪŋ/, /ˈɑfspɹɪŋ/, enPR: äfʹsprĭng
• Rhymes: -ɒfspɹɪŋ, -ɔfspɹɪŋ, -ɑfspɹɪŋ

Noun

offspring (plural offspring or offsprings)

1. A person's daughter or son; a person's child.
2. Any of a person's descendants, including of further generations.
3. An animal or plant's progeny or 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) Anything produced; the 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 plural offsprings is mainly used for 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): binary clone, descendants, fruit of one's loins, get, lineage, progeny, seed

Antonyms

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

Derived terms

• donor offspring
• grandoffspring
• large offspring syndrome
• parent-offspring conflict

 

Translations

singular offspring (male, female or sex unspecified)

• Arabic: وَلَد (ar) m (walad)

  Gulf Arabic: ضنا m or f (ḏ̣ana)

• Armenian: զավակ (hy) (zavak)
• Azerbaijani: övlad (az), zadə (az)
• Bashkir: бала (bala), нәҫел (nəśel)
• Belarusian: пато́мак m (patómak), нашча́дак m (naščádak), нашча́дніца f (naščádnica)
• Bengali: সন্তান (bn) (śontan)
• Bulgarian: пото́мък (bg) m (potómǎk)
• Chickasaw: inchipota
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 子孫／子孙 (zh) (zǐsūn)

• Czech: potomek (cs) m, potomkyně f
• Danish: afkom (da) n
• Dutch: afstammeling (nl) m, nageslacht (nl) n, nakomeling (nl) m, nazaat (nl) m, kind (nl) n
• Egyptian: (ms)
• Esperanto: (♂♀) ido (eo), filo (eo), filino (eo)
• Finnish: lapsi (fi), jälkeläinen (fi)
• French: enfant (fr) m or f
• Georgian: ნაშიერი (našieri), შთამომავალი (štamomavali)
• German: Nachkomme (de) m, Nachkommin (de) f, Kind (de) n, Sohn (de) m, Tochter (de) f, Sprössling (de) m
• Greek: τέκνο (el) n (tékno), παιδί (el) n (paidí), απόγονος (el) m (apógonos)

  Ancient: ἔρνος n (érnos), γονή f (gonḗ)

• Higaonon: bata
• Hungarian: utód (hu)
• Ido: decendanto (io)
• Italian: discendente (it) m or f, figlio (it) m, figlia (it) f
• Japanese: 胤 (ja) (たね, tane), 子孫 (ja) (しそん, shison), 子種 (こだね, kodane)
• Kazakh: әулет (äulet)
• Korean: 자녀(子女) (ko) (janyeo), 자식(子息) (ko) (jasik)
• Latin: subolēs f
• Lutshootseed: bədaʔ
• Macedonian: потомок m (potomok)
• Malayalam: സന്തതി (ml) (santati), കുഞ്ഞ് (ml) (kuññŭ), കുട്ടി (ml) (kuṭṭi), മകൻ (ml) m (makaṉ)
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: etterkommer (no) m, avkom n, ætling m, ætting m, barn (no) n

  Nynorsk: etterkomar m, etterkommar m, avkom n, ætling m, ætting m, barn n

• Oromo: ilmoo
• Ottoman Turkish: نسل (nesl), ذریت (zürriyet)
• Persian: فرزند (fa) (farzand)
• Polish: potomek (pl) m, potomkini f
• Portuguese: filho (pt) m, filha (pt) f, rebento (pt) m, vergôntea (pt)
• Russian: пото́мок (ru) m (potómok), о́тпрыск (ru) m (ótprysk)
• Sanskrit: तनस् (sa) n (tanas)
• Santali: ᱜᱳᱱ (gon)
• Scottish Gaelic: sliochd m
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: по̀томак m

  Roman: pòtomak (sh) m

• Slovak: potomok m, potomkyňa f
• Slovene: potomec (sl) m
• Spanish: vástago (es) m, descendiente (es) m, sucesor (es) m, sucesor (es) m, sucesora f
• Swedish: avkomling (sv) c, avkomma (sv) c, ättling (sv) c
• Tagalog: kawil
• Tajik: фарзанд (tg) (farzand), насл (tg) (nasl), авлод (avlod)
• Taos: ȕʼúna
• Turkish: evlat (tr), çocuk (tr)
• Ukrainian: наща́док m (naščádok), пото́мок (uk) m (potómok)
• Uyghur: ئەۋلاد (ewlad)
• Uzbek: avlod (uz)
• Welsh: epil m

plural or collective offspring (only males, only females, both sexes or sex unspecified)

• Arabic: ذُرِّيَّة f (ḏurriyya), وَلَد (ar) m (walad), سُلَالَة f (sulāla), نَسْل (ar) m (nasl)

  Gulf Arabic: عيال (ʕyāl)

• Azerbaijani: nəsil (az), nəvə-nəticə
• Bengali: সন্তানসমূহ (sontansomuho), আওলাদ (bn) (aōlad), ফরজন্দ (bn) (forjond)
• Bulgarian: пото́мство (bg) n (potómstvo)
• Chamicuro: pujchi
• Chickasaw: inchipota
• Chinese:

  Cantonese: 子孫／子孙 (zi² syun¹), 兒孫／儿孙 (ji⁴ syun¹)

  Hokkien: 囝孫／囝孙 (zh-min-nan) (kiáⁿ-sun)

  Mandarin: 子孫／子孙 (zh) (zǐsūn), 兒孫／儿孙 (zh) (érsūn)

• Czech: potomstvo (cs) n
• Dutch: afstammelingen (nl) pl, kinderen (nl) pl, kinders (nl) pl, nageslachten (nl) pl, nakomelingschap (nl) n, nakomelingen (nl) pl (collective)
• Esperanto: (♂♀) idaro (collective)
• Finnish: lapset pl, jälkeläiset pl, jälkikasvu (fi) (collective)
• French: enfance (fr) f (collective), (♂♀ or only ♂) enfants (fr) m pl, descendance (fr) f, progéniture (fr) f (humorous)
• German: Abkömmlinge (de) m pl, Nachfahren (de) m pl, Nachfahrinnen (de) f pl, Nachwuchs (de) m (uncountable, no pl), Sprösslinge (de) m pl, Nachkommen (de) m pl, Nachkomminnen (de) f pl, Nachkommenschaft (de) f (collective sg), Kinder (de) n pl
• Hindi: औलाद (hi) f (aulād), नसल (hi) f (nasal)
• Hungarian: leszármazott (hu), ivadék (hu)
• Irish: clann (ga) f, síolradh m
• Italian: discendenti (it) m pl or f pl, prole (it) f
• Kazakh: әулет (äulet), ұрпақ (ūrpaq)
• Khmer: មច្ឆាញាតិ (mɔɔcchaañiəteʼ)
• Kyrgyz: тукум-жуурат (tukum-juurat), укум-тукум (ky) (ukum-tukum)
• Lao: ລູກຫລານ (lūk lān)
• Latin: prōlēs f, prōgeniēs f, subolēs f
• Macedonian: потомство n (potomstvo)
• Malayalam: സന്തതികൾ (santatikaḷ), കുഞ്ഞുങ്ങൾ (kuññuṅṅaḷ), മക്കൾ (makkaḷ)
• Ngazidja Comorian: wana class 2
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: etterkommere m pl, ætlinger m, ættinger n, avkom n (collective sg)

  Nynorsk: etterkomarar m pl, etterkommarar m pl, ætling m, ætting m, avkom n (collective sg)

• Ottoman Turkish: نسل (nesl), ذریت (zürriyet)
• Persian: سلاله (fa) (solâle), اولاد (fa) (avlâd), نسل (fa) (nasl)
• Polish: potomstwo (pl) n, progenitura (pl) f
• Portuguese: descendência (pt) f
• Russian: пото́мство (ru) n (potómstvo)
• Santali: ᱜᱳᱱ (gon)
• Scottish Gaelic: clann f, sliochd m
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: по̀то̄мство n

  Roman: pòtōmstvo (sh) n

• Slovak: potomstvo n
• Slovene: potomstvo (sl) n
• Spanish: descendencia (es) f, linaje (es) m, prole (es) f, progenie (es) f, progenitura f
• Swahili: watoto (sw) class 2
• Swedish: avkomlingar (sv) c pl, avkommor (sv) c pl, ättlingar (sv) c pl
• Tajik: авлод (avlod), насл (tg) (nasl), зуррият (zurriyat), зурриёт (zurriyot)
• Tarifit: taṛwa f
• Thai: ลูกหลาน (th) (lûuk-lǎan)
• Turkish: yavru (tr)
• Ukrainian: пото́мство n (potómstvo), наща́дки m pl (naščádky)
• Urdu: اَوْلاد f (aulād), نَسل f (nasal, nasl)
• Uyghur: ئەۋلاد (ewlad)
• Uzbek: nasl (uz), avlod (uz), urugʻ (uz), zurriyot (uz)
• Welsh: hiliogaeth m or f

singular offspring, animal's or plant's progeny

• Arabic: نِتاج (nitāj)
• Bikol Central: ugbon (bcl) (of animals)
• Bulgarian: пото́мък (bg) m (potómǎk)
• Esperanto: (♂♀) ido (eo)
• Kurdish:

  Northern Kurdish: weçe (ku), berebav

• Malayalam: കുഞ്ഞ് (ml) (kuññŭ)
• Scottish Gaelic: àl m (animal's or bird's)
• Turkish: döl (tr)

plural or collective offspring, animal's or plant's progeny

• Arabic: نِتاج (nitāj)
• Esperanto: (♂♀) idaro
• Finnish: jälkeläiset pl
• French: progéniture (fr) f
• German: Nachwuchs (de) m (uncountable, no pl)
• Malayalam: കുഞ്ഞുങ്ങൾ (kuññuṅṅaḷ)
• Portuguese: descendente (pt) m or f
• Scottish Gaelic: àil m pl (animal's or bird's)
• Spanish: progenie (es) f
• Tarifit: taṛwa f
• Ukrainian: пото́мство n (potómstvo)

something produced

• Bulgarian: проду́кт (bg) m (prodúkt)
• Dutch: voortbrengst, productie (nl)
• Finnish: aikaansaannos (fi), lapsi (fi)
• German: Hinterlassenschaft (de) f
• Ukrainian: плід (uk) m (plid), ді́тище n (dítyšče)

computing: process launched by another process

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Translations to be checked

• Dutch: ^{(please verify)} oir (nl) n
• French: ^{(please verify)} descendance (fr), ^{(please verify)} enfance (fr), ^{(please verify)} enfants pl, ^{(please verify)} postérité (fr), ^{(please verify)} progéniture (fr)
• Manx: ^{(please verify)} sheel m
• Old English: ^{(please verify)} ofspring, ^{(please verify)} tēam (ang)
• Telugu: ^{(please verify)} సంతానం (te) (santānaṁ)