offspring etymology

Etymology

The word "offspring" comes from the Middle English word "offspring," which in turn comes from the Old English word "ofspring," which is composed of the following elements:

  • "Of" - meaning "from" or "out of"
  • "Spring" - meaning "to leap" or "to come forth"

Meaning

The word "offspring" means children or descendants. It can also refer to the young of animals.

Origin

The word "offspring" first appeared in the English language in the 13th century. It is thought to have been originally used to refer to the young of animals, but it gradually came to be used more broadly to refer to children or descendants in general.

Usage

The word "offspring" is commonly used in both formal and informal contexts. It can be used to refer to the children of a particular person or animal, or to descendants in general. For example:

  • "She is the mother of two beautiful offspring."
  • "The offspring of the lion are called cubs."
  • "The royal offspring will inherit the throne."

offspring relate terms

  • spring

    Etymology The word spring derives from the Proto Indo European root sphreng meaning

  • sparse

    Etymology Late Latin sparsus scattered dispersed source of French épars Spanish e

  • young

    Etymology The word young comes from the Old English word geong which meant young

  • progeny

    Etymology Progeny comes from the Latin word progenies which means descendants offsp

  • issue

    Etymology The word issue originates from the Old French word issu which is the past

  • proliferation

    Etymology Late Latin proliferat from pro forth ferre to bear French prolif

  • procreation

    Etymology From Medieval Latin procreatio a begetting from Latin procreare to beg

  • brood

    Etymology The word brood comes from the Middle English word brod which is derived fr

  • effete

    Etymology Latin effetus exhausted worn out From ex out of fetus off

  • rebut

    Etymology The word rebut comes from the Old French word rebouter which means to dri

  • brute

    Etymology The word brute is derived from the Old French word brute which in turn com

  • heir

    Etymology The word heir comes from the Old English word ierfe which originally meant