offspring
/ˈɔfspɹɪŋ/
Word Rarity
Rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 3.77 in modern English
18
Scrabble Score
9
Letters
2
Syllables
8
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
Any of a person's descendants, including of further generations.
Example Sentences
- "We are the offspring of Italian immigrants."
- "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."
- "Artists often treasure their works as their immortal offspring."
Etymology
From Middle English ofspring, from Old English ofspring (“offspring, descendants, posterity”), equivalent to off- + spring. Compare Icelandic afspringur (“offspring”). More at off, spring.
Origin
Word Breakdown
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /ˈɔfspɹɪŋ/
- British English: /ˈɒfspɹɪŋ/