son

See also: Appendix:Variations of "son"

Languages (48)

Translingual • English

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Translingual

Symbol

son

1. (international standards) ISO 639-2 & ISO 639-5 language code for Songhay languages.

English

Alternative forms

• sonne (obsolete)

Pronunciation

• (offspring, beget) IPA^(key): /sʌn/
• (Northern England, Ireland) IPA^(key): /sʊn/
• (Spanish borrowing) IPA^(key): /sɒn/

• Audio (UK):

  (file)

• Audio (US):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ʌn, -ɒn
• Homophone: sun

Etymology 1

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”).

Noun

son (plural sons)

1. One's male offspring.

   Synonyms: see Thesaurus:son

   Before the birth of the man's child, he said: "I want a son, not a daughter."

   • 1671, John Milton, “The First Book”, in Paradise Regain’d. A Poem. In IV Books. To which is Added, Samson Agonistes, London: […] J[ohn] M[acock] for John Starkey […], →OCLC, page 10, lines 165-166:

     From what conſummate vertue I have choſe / This perfect Man, by merit call'd my Son,

2. A male adopted person in relation to his adoptive 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.
   • 1832, Noah Webster, “SON”, in A Dictionary of the English Language Intended to Exhibit the Origin of Words, the Orthography and Definitions: in Two Volumes · Volume 2‎^[3]:

     Eli called Samuel his son. Be plain, good son, and homely in thy drift.

4. A male person considered to have been significantly shaped by social conflict.

   He was a son of the mafia system.

5. A person regarded as the product of some place.
   • 1850, Oliver P. Badger, convention member from Putnam, Indiana, Report of the Debates and Proceedings of the Convention for the Revision of the Constitution of the State of Indiana, 1850 Volume 1‎^[4], page 827:

     I hold it to be true, that the people are the sons of the soil; and we are only their instruments here.

6. A familiar address to a male person from an older or otherwise more authoritative person.
   • 1984, “Working on the Highway”, in Bruce Springsteen (music), Born in the U.S.A.:

     Son, can't you see that she's just a little girl?

   • 2012, BioWare, Mass Effect 3 (Science Fiction), Redwood City: Electronic Arts, →OCLC, PC, scene: Citadel:

     Shepard: Stay with me. We're almost through this.
     Admiral Anderson: You did good, son. You did good. I'm proud of you.
     Shepard: Thank you, sir. Anderson?

7. (UK, New York City, colloquial) An informal address to a friend or person of equal authority.
8. (computing) The current version of a file, derived from the preceding father file.
   • 2004, Ray Bradley, The Ultimate Computing Glossary for Advanced Level, page 31:

     Three generations of file are usually kept, being the grandfather, father and son files.

   • 2007, O. Ray Whittington, Patrick R. Delaney, Wiley CPA Exam Review 2008: Auditing and Attestation, page 779:

     After the update, the new file master file is the son. The file from which the father was developed with the transaction files of the appropriate day is the grandfather. The grandfather and son files are stored in different locations.

Antonyms

• (with regards to gender) daughter
• (with regards to ancestry) father, mother, parent

Hypernyms

• child

Derived terms

• bachelor's son
• batchelor's son
• favorite son/favourite son
• from father to son
• grandfather-father-son
• grandson
• I'll be a son of a gun
• like father, like son
• like father like son
• mother's son
• my son
• native son
• natural son
• only son
• paper son
• prodigal son
• sexy son hypothesis
• sonhead
• son-in-law
• sonny
• son of a
• son of a bachelor
• son of a bitch
• son of Adam
• son of a duck
• son of a fuck
• son of a gun
• son of a jackal
• son of a motherless goat
• son of a sea-cook
• son of a snake
• son of a whore
• son of bitch
• son of God
• son of privilege
• son of the manse
• son of the morning
• son of the soil
• son-out-law
• stepson
• whoreson
• Wisdom of Jesus son of Sirach

 

Translations

See son/translations § Noun.

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 fucking time I ever had. There's not gonna be another time, so don't son me, you bastard. […] ”

Etymology 3

From Spanish son (literally “tone, sound”).

Noun

son (uncountable)

2. (music) Son cubano, a genre of music and dance blending Spanish and African elements that originated in Cuba during the late 19th century.
   • 2017, Mark Kurlansky, Havana: A Subtropical Delirium‎^[5], Bloomsbury, →ISBN:

     When son first emerged in the streets of Havana, in the early twentieth century, it was shut down by the police, as were most forms of African culture. Son groups, conjuntos, caught playing on the street, as was the tradition, had their instruments confiscated.

Further reading

• son on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
• son cubano on Wikipedia.Wikipedia

Anagrams

• ons, Nos, Nos., nos., NSO, ONS, nos, NOS, Nºˢ

Afrikaans

Etymology

From Dutch zon, from Middle Dutch sonne, from Old Dutch sunna, from Proto-Germanic *sunnǭ, from Proto-Indo-European *sh₂un-, *sóh₂wl̥.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /sɔn/

• Audio:

  (file)

Proper noun

son

1. Sun, sun (star of the solar system)

Derived terms

• middernagson
• sonbril
• Sondag
• sonlig
• sonneblom
• sonnestelsel
• sonnig
• sonpaneel
• sonskyn

Aromanian

Etymology

From Latin sonus. Compare Daco-Romanian sun.

Noun

son n (plural sonuri)

1. sound

Related terms

• asun

Ashkun

Etymology

Borrowed from a descendant of Sanskrit सुवर्ण (suvárṇa).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈson/

Noun

son (Sanu)

1. gold

Asturian

Etymology

From Latin sunt.

Verb

son

1. third-person plural present indicative of ser

Azerbaijani

Other scripts

Cyrillic		сон
Abjad		سوْن

Etymology

From Proto-Turkic *soŋ (“back, end”). Compare Turkish son below.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [son]

• Audio:

  (file)

Noun

son (definite accusative sonu, plural sonlar)

1. end, ending

   Synonym: axır

   Antonym: baş

   sonda isə başa düşdük ki... ― but at the end we understood that...

   Filmin sonunda əsas personaj ölür. ― The main character dies at the end of the movie.

Declension

Declension of son
	singular	plural
nominative	son	sonlar
definite accusative	sonu	sonları
dative	sona	sonlara
locative	sonda	sonlarda
ablative	sondan	sonlardan
definite genitive	sonun	sonların

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

Derived terms

• son qoymaq (“put an end to”)
• sonuncu (“last, ultimate”)
• sonsuz (“endless; barren, sterile”)
  • sonsuzluq
• sonlandırmaq (“to terminate”)
  • sonlandırılma (“termination”)

Adjective

son

1. recent, latest
2. last, final

   Synonym: axırıncı

   ötən əsrin son onilliyi ― last decade of the previous century

Catalan

Etymology 1

Inherited from Old Catalan son, from Vulgar Latin sum, reduced form of Latin suum, accusative of suus, from Proto-Italic *sowos. Compare Occitan and French son.

In unstressed position in Vulgar Latin suum, suam etc. were monosyllabic and regularly became son, sa etc. in Catalan. When stressed they were disyllabic and became seu, sua > seua etc.

Pronunciation

• (Balearic, Central) IPA^(key): /sun/ (always unstressed)
• (Valencia) IPA^(key): /son/ (always unstressed)

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.

In Algherese, son and its forms mainly give reference to vostè.

See also

• seu
• llur
• vostre

References

El Català de l'Alguer : un model d'àmbit restringit, Barcelona, 2003, →ISBN, page 31

Etymology 2

Inherited from Old Catalan son, from Latin somnus, from Proto-Indo-European *swépnos. Feminine noun by analogy with fam (“hunger”) and set (“thirst”).

Alternative forms

• so (Balearic)

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): (Central, Balearic, Valencia) [ˈsɔn]

Noun

son m (plural sons)

1. sleep

Noun

son f (uncountable)

1. sleepiness

   Synonym: somnolència

Derived terms

• malson

Related terms

• somni

References

• “son” in Diccionari de la llengua catalana, segona edició, Institut d’Estudis Catalans.
• “son” in Diccionari català-valencià-balear, Antoni Maria Alcover and Francesc de Borja Moll, 1962.

Danish

Verb

son

1. imperative of sone

Faroese

Noun

son

1. indefinite accusative singular of sonur

Finnish

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈson/, [ˈs̠o̞n]
• Rhymes: -on
• Hyphenation^(key): son

Contraction

son

1. (dialectal) Contraction of se on.

Usage notes

This spelling is only used in texts meant to represent dialectal speech. The same contraction is common in rapid speech in many Finnish varieties, but the spelling is usually not used even in the most informal text or chat messages.

Franco-Provençal

Etymology

Inherited from Vulgar Latin *sum. Doublet of sin (possessive pronoun).

Determiner

son (feminine sa, masculine plural sos or ses, feminine plural ses) (ORB, broad)

1. his, her, its (third-personal singular possessor)

See also

Franco-Provençal possessive determiners

			Possessee
			singular		plural
			m	f	m	f
Possessor	singular	1st	mon	ma	mos	mes
		2nd	ton	ta	tos	tes
		3rd	son	sa	sos	ses
	plural	1st	noutron	noutra	noutros	noutres
		2nd	voutron	voutra	voutros	voutres
		3rd	lor		lors

References

• son [1] in DicoFranPro: Dictionnaire Français/Francoprovençal – on dicofranpro.llm.umontreal.ca
• son in Lo trèsor Arpitan – on arpitan.eu

French

Etymology 1

Inherited from Old French son, suen, suon, from Latin sonus (the current form may be remade after or influenced by sonner).

Pronunciation

• (Europe) IPA^(key): /sɔ̃/
• (Canada) IPA^(key): /sõ(ː)/
• Homophones: sons, sont

Noun

son m (plural sons)

1. sound

   Le son de ce piano est agréable.

   The sound of this piano is nice.

Derived terms

• au son de
• ingénieur du son
• mur du son
• son de cloche

 

Related terms

• sonner
• sonore

Etymology 2

Inherited 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”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /sɔ̃/, (before a vowel) /sɔ̃.n‿/, /sɔ.n‿/

Determiner

son m (feminine sa, plural ses)

1. (possessive) his, her, their, its (used to qualify masculine nouns and before a 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 his/her girlfriend.

   La décision a été prise pendant son absence.

   The decision was taken in her/his absence.

Usage notes

Son is used before all singular nouns beginning with a vowel or a mute H, even those that are feminine. However, sa is used with singular feminine nouns beginning with a consonant or an aspirated H.

Derived terms

• sondit

Related terms

French possessive determiners

			Possessee
			singular		plural
			m	f
Possessor	singular	1st	mon1	ma	mes
		2nd	ton1	ta	tes
		3rd	son1	sa	ses
	plural	1st	notre		nos
		2nd	votre2		vos2
		3rd	leur		leurs

¹ Also used before feminine adjectives and nouns beginning with a vowel or mute h.

² Also used as the polite singular form.

For the singular persons there are gender-neutral neologisms man, tan, san. These are extremely rare.

Etymology 3

Inherited from Latin secundus (presumably through an earlier Old French form *seon; compare an attested Medieval Latin seonno, seonnum). Cognate with Catalan segó, Old Occitan segon. The meaning derives from the fact that bran results from a second sifting of flour. Doublet of second, a borrowing.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /sɔ̃/

Noun

son m (plural sons)

1. bran

   Ceci est du pain de son.

   This bread is done with bran.

Further reading

• “son”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.

Anagrams

• nos

Galician

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈsoŋ/ [ˈs̺oŋ]
• Rhymes: -oŋ
• Hyphenation: son

Etymology 1

Inherited from Old Galician-Portuguese sõo, son (13th century, Cantigas de Santa Maria, probably influenced by or possibly borrowed from Old Occitan son), from Latin sonus. Alternatively, regressively derived from the verb soar. Compare Portuguese som, Spanish son.

Alternative forms

• som (reintegrationist)

Noun

son m (plural sons)

1. sound
   • 1370, R. Lorenzo, editor, Crónica troiana, A Coruña: Fundación Barrié, page 561:

     Et começou o torneo a creçer tãto, et a seer o acapelamento tã grande, et a uolta et os braados et os alaridos et os sõos dos cornos et das tronpas tã grandes et tã esquiuos que ome nõ se podía oýr

     And the tournament began to grow so much, and the carnage was so large, and the din and the roars and the yells and the sounds of the horns and of the trumpets so big and harsh that a man couldn't heard himself

   • 1409, J. L. Pensado Tomé, editor, Tratado de Albeitaria, Santiago de Compostela: Centro Ramón Piñeiro, page 69:

     Et pasando porllos ditos, hu ha gran roido et gran soon se se o Cauallo espantar no no deuen ferir con açorregos, nen con vara, nen con espora, mais deuen no trager mansamente, con hũa cana afaagandoo et lleuandoo porllos ditos llugares a miude

     And passing by the mentioned places, where there is big noise and big sound, if the horse frightens, they should not wound him with whips nor with a stick, nor with spoor, rather they should bring him meekly, fondling him with a twig and taking him through this places often

Related terms

• soar
• sónico
• sonoro

Etymology 2

Alternative forms

• som (reintegrationist)
• são (reintegrationist)

Verb

son

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

   Son parvo ― I'm stupid

   Son parvos ― They're stupid

References

• Ernesto Xosé González Seoane, María Álvarez de la Granja, Ana Isabel Boullón Agrelo (2006–2022) “son”, in Dicionario de Dicionarios do galego medieval (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega
• Xavier Varela Barreiro, Xavier Gómez Guinovart (2006–2018) “soon”, in Corpus Xelmírez - Corpus lingüístico da Galicia medieval (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: ILG
• Antón Luís Santamarina Fernández, editor (2006–2013), “son”, in Dicionario de Dicionarios da lingua galega [Dictionary of Dictionaries of the Galician language] (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega
• Antón Luís Santamarina Fernández, Ernesto Xosé González Seoane, María Álvarez de la Granja, editors (2003–2018), “son”, in Tesouro informatizado da lingua galega (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega
• Rosario Álvarez Blanco, editor (2014–2024), “son”, in Tesouro do léxico patrimonial galego e portugués (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega, →ISSN

German

Pronunciation

• Audio:

  (file)

Pronoun

son

1. Alternative form of so'n
   • 1857, Der Glücksstern. Novelle von Julie Burow (Frau Pfannenschmidt), Bromberg, page 95:

     „[...] Macht Platz Leute! en Wagen wär' so übel nicht in soner Hitze.“

     (please add an English translation of this quotation)

Further reading

• “son” in Duden online
• “son” in Digitales Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache

Icelandic

Noun

son

1. indefinite accusative singular of sonur

Indonesian

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈson/, [ˈson]
• Rhymes: -sɔn
• Hyphenation: son

Etymology 1

Unknown (This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

Noun

son (plural son-son, first-person possessive sonku, second-person possessive sonmu, third-person possessive sonnya)

1. (agriculture) harvested young garlic at the age of 70 days after planting

Etymology 2

Unadapted borrowing from Japanese 村(そん) (son, “village”). Romanised according modified Kunrei-shiki romanization.

Noun

son

1. (historical, 1942-1945) Synonym of kecamatan

Suffix

son

1. (historical, 1942-1945) Synonym of kecamatan

Further reading

• “son” in Kamus Besar Bahasa Indonesia, Jakarta: Agency for Language Development and Cultivation – Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology of the Republic of Indonesia, 2016.

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.

Italian

Verb

son

1. Apocopic form of sono

Japanese

Romanization

son

1. Rōmaji transcription of そん

Ladin

Etymology 1

Alternative forms

• sun

Verb

son

1. first-person singular present indicative of ester

Etymology 2

Alternative forms

• sun
• sion

Verb

son

1. third-person singular present indicative of ester

Lower Sorbian

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [sɔn]

Noun

son m anim

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

Declension

Declension of son

	Singular	Dual	Plural
Nominative	son	sona	sony
Genitive	sona	sonowu	sonow
Dative	sonoju	sonoma	sonam
Accusative	sona	sonowu	sony, sonow
Instrumental	sonom	sonoma	sonami
Locative	sonje	sonoma	sonach

Synonyms

• kołp
• šwon

Manx

Alternative forms

• er son

Etymology

A contraction of er son, from Middle Irish ar son of unknown etymology. Cognate to Irish ar son and Scottish Gaelic airson; see the Irish entry for further etymology.

Preposition

son

1. for

   Cur booise da Jee son dty hlaynt.

   Thank God for your health.

   Eeckee oo son shen.

   You'll pay for that.

   C're vees ain son jinnair?

   What shall we have for dinner?

2. by

   Dy cadjin ta mee ec y thie son queig er y chlag.

   I'm usually home by five o'clock.

3. (used with verbal noun) want

   Cha nel ee son credjal yn irriney.

   She doesn't want to believe the truth.

   Cha nel eh son poosey.

   He's not the marrying kind.

   As myr shen, bee oo son gee?

   You'll be wanting to eat, then?

Usage notes

Not used with pronouns. See er son for inflected forms.

Derived terms

• cre hon (“for what purpose?”)
• son shickyrys (“for certain”)

Middle English

Etymology 1

Noun

son

1. Alternative form of sonne (“sun”)

Etymology 2

Noun

son

1. Alternative form of sone (“son”)

Middle French

Etymology

From Old French son.

Noun

son m (plural sons)

1. sound

Descendants

• French: son

Mirandese

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈsõ/

Verb

son

1. third-person plural present of ser

Northern Sami

Etymology

From Proto-Samic *sonë.

Pronoun

son

1. he, she, it

Inflection

Inflection of son (irregular)
Nominative	son
Genitive	sū
Nominative	son
Genitive	sū
Accusative	sū
Illative	sutnje
Locative	sūs
Comitative	suinna
Essive	sūnin

See also

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

Further reading

• Koponen, Eino, Ruppel, Klaas, Aapala, Kirsti, editors (2002–2008), Álgu database: Etymological database of the Saami languages‎^[6], Helsinki: Research Institute for the Languages of Finland

Norwegian Nynorsk

Etymology

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

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [so̞ːn]

Noun

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

1. a son

   Han hadde to søner.

   He had two sons.

Derived terms

• steson

Related terms

Male given names:

• Son
• Sone, Sune

 

References

• “son” in The Nynorsk Dictionary.

Occitan

Etymology 1

Determiner

son m sg (feminine singular sa, masculine plural sos, feminine plural sas)

1. his; her; its

   Synonyms: seu, sieu

Etymology 2

Verb

son

1. third-person plural present indicative of èsser

Old English

Etymology

From Latin sonus.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /soːn/

Noun

sōn m

1. a musical sound; vocal, instrumental

Derived terms

• sōncræft

References

• Joseph Bosworth and T. Northcote Toller (1898) “sōn”, in An Anglo-Saxon Dictionary‎^[7], 2nd edition, Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Old French

Alternative forms

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

Etymology

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

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /sun/
• Rhymes: -on

Determiner

son m (feminine sa, plural ses)

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

Descendants

• Middle French: son
  • French: son

Old Frisian

Etymology

From Proto-West Germanic *sān (“immediately”). Cognates include Old English sōna, Old Saxon sān and Old Dutch *sān.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈsɔːn/

Adverb

sōn

1. soon

References

• Bremmer, Rolf H. (2009) An Introduction to Old Frisian: History, Grammar, Reader, Glossary, Amsterdam: John Benjamins Publishing Company, →ISBN

Old Irish

Etymology 1

Borrowed from Latin sonus.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /son/

Noun

son m

1. sound

Inflection

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

Etymology 2

Pronoun

son

1. Alternative spelling of són

Mutation

Mutation of son

radical	lenition	nasalization
son	ṡon	unchanged

Note: Certain mutated forms of some words can never occur in Old Irish.
All possible mutated forms are displayed for convenience.

Further reading

• Gregory Toner, Sharon Arbuthnot, Máire Ní Mhaonaigh, Marie-Luise Theuerkauf, Dagmar Wodtko, editors (2019), “son”, in eDIL: Electronic Dictionary of the Irish Language

Old Norse

Noun

son

1. accusative singular of sonr

Old Swedish

Alternative forms

• sun

Etymology

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

Noun

son m

1. son

Declension

Declension of son (u-stem)

	singular		plural
	indefinite	definite	indefinite	definite
nominative	son	son	syni(r), -e(r)	synini(r), -ene(r)
accusative	son	sonin	syni, -e	synina, -ena
dative	syni, -e	syninum, -enom	sonum, -om	sonumin, -omen
genitive	sona(r)	sonsins	sona	sonanna

Descendants

• Swedish: son

Scots

Etymology

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

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [sɪn]

Noun

son (plural sons)

1. son, male child

Derived terms

Derived terms

• brither-son, sister-son (“nephew”)
• guid-son (“son-in-law”)
• son-afore-the-faither (“flowering currant”)

Scottish Gaelic

Noun

son m (indeclinable)

1. sake, account

   Dèan seo air ar son.

   Do this for us/for our sake.

   Dèan seo air mo shon.

   Do this for me/for my sake.

Usage notes

Note that a grammaticalised unit meaning ‘for’ is formed by a prepositional phrase combining the preposition air / ar with a nominal or pronominal argument and son. (These structures are sometimes called ‘compound prepositions’.)

Derived terms

• airson, carson

Preposition

son (+ genitive)

1. Colloquial form of airson.

Alternative forms

• 'son

Skolt Sami

Etymology

From Proto-Samic *sonë.

Pronoun

son

1. he, she, it

Inflection

Declension of son

	singular	dual	plural
nominative	son	suäna	sij
genitive	suu	suännai	sij
accusative	suu	suännaid	siʹjjid
illative	suʹnne	suännaid	siʹjjid
locative	suʹst	suännast	siiʹst
comitative	suin	suännain	siʹjjivuiʹm
abessive	suutää	suännaitää	siʹjjitää
essive	suuʹnen	suännan	—
partitive	suuʹđed	—	—

Further reading

• Koponen, Eino, Ruppel, Klaas, Aapala, Kirsti, editors (2002–2008), Álgu database: Etymological database of the Saami languages‎^[8], Helsinki: Research Institute for the Languages of Finland

Spanish

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈson/ [ˈsõn]

• Audio (Colombia):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -on
• Syllabification: son

Etymology 1

From Latin sonus, probably through the intermediate of Old Occitan son (or influenced by it); alternatively, but less likely, regressively derived from the verb sonar (the more expected form is sueno that appeared in some Medieval texts). Compare English sound and Portuguese som.

Noun

son m (plural sones)

1. tone (pleasant sound)
2. (music, genre, uncountable) son (Afro-Cuban musical form)

   Synonym: son cubano

3. (music) musical composition in this form

Derived terms

• bailar al son que le tocan
• en son de
• sin ton ni son
• ¿a qué son?
• ¿a son de qué?

 

Related terms

• sonar

 

Etymology 2

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

Verb

son

1. third-person plural present indicative of ser

Further reading

• “son”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.7, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 2023 November 28
• son on the Spanish Wikipedia.Wikipedia ^es
• son cubano on the Spanish Wikipedia.Wikipedia ^es

Sranan Tongo

Etymology

From English Sun (from Middle English sunne, from Old English sunne (“sun; the Sun”)) or Dutch zon (from Middle Dutch sonne (“sun”), from Old Dutch sunna), both from Proto-Germanic *sunnǭ, from Proto-Indo-European *sh₂un-, *sóh₂wl̥.

Noun

son

1. Sun

Derived terms

• sonde

Descendants

• → Saramaccan: sónu

Swedish

Etymology 1

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

• IPA^(key): /soːn/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Rhymes: -oːn

Noun

son c

1. a son

   Antonym: dotter

Declension

Declension of son

		nominative	genitive
singular	indefinite	son	sons
	definite	sonen	sonens
plural	indefinite	söner	söners
	definite	sönerna	sönernas

Related terms

• -son (see there for more derivations)

• brorson
• dotterson
• sonbarn
• sondotter
• sonhustru
• sonlig
• sonnamn
• sonson
• sonsonsson
• styvson
• svärson
• systerson

 

Etymology 2

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

Noun

son

1. definite singular of so

References

• son in Svensk ordbok (SO)
• son in Svenska Akademiens ordbok (SAOB)

Anagrams

• nos, ons, sno

Turkish

Etymology

From Ottoman Turkish صوڭ (soŋ, “end, consequence”), from Proto-Turkic *soŋ (“back, end, after”).

Cognate with Old Turkic [script needed] (soŋ, “after; late”); Tatar, Kazakh, Kyrgyz соң (soñ), Southern Altai соҥ (soŋ), Uzbek so'ng (“after”), Yakut онтон (onton, “then”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈson/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Hyphenation: son

Adjective

son

1. last, final

   Antonym: ilk

Noun

son (definite accusative sonu, plural sonlar)

1. end, ending

   sona erdirmek ― bring to an end, put an end to

2. consequence, result, conclusion

Declension

Inflection
Nominative	son
Definite accusative	sonu
	Singular	Plural
Nominative	son	sonlar
Definite accusative	sonu	sonları
Dative	sona	sonlara
Locative	sonda	sonlarda
Ablative	sondan	sonlardan
Genitive	sonun	sonların
Possessive forms Nominative Singular Plural 1st singular sonum sonlarım 2nd singular sonun sonların 3rd singular sonu sonları 1st plural sonumuz sonlarımız 2nd plural sonunuz sonlarınız 3rd plural sonları sonları Definite accusative Singular Plural 1st singular sonumu sonlarımı 2nd singular sonunu sonlarını 3rd singular sonunu sonlarını 1st plural sonumuzu sonlarımızı 2nd plural sonunuzu sonlarınızı 3rd plural sonlarını sonlarını Dative Singular Plural 1st singular sonuma sonlarıma 2nd singular sonuna sonlarına 3rd singular sonuna sonlarına 1st plural sonumuza sonlarımıza 2nd plural sonunuza sonlarınıza 3rd plural sonlarına sonlarına Locative Singular Plural 1st singular sonumda sonlarımda 2nd singular sonunda sonlarında 3rd singular sonunda sonlarında 1st plural sonumuzda sonlarımızda 2nd plural sonunuzda sonlarınızda 3rd plural sonlarında sonlarında Ablative Singular Plural 1st singular sonumdan sonlarımdan 2nd singular sonundan sonlarından 3rd singular sonundan sonlarından 1st plural sonumuzdan sonlarımızdan 2nd plural sonunuzdan sonlarınızdan 3rd plural sonlarından sonlarından Genitive Singular Plural 1st singular sonumun sonlarımın 2nd singular sonunun sonlarının 3rd singular sonunun sonlarının 1st plural sonumuzun sonlarımızın 2nd plural sonunuzun sonlarınızın 3rd plural sonlarının sonlarının
Predicative forms Singular Plural 1st singular sonum sonlarım 2nd singular sonsun sonlarsın 3rd singular son sondur sonlar sonlardır 1st plural sonuz sonlarız 2nd plural sonsunuz sonlarsınız 3rd plural sonlar sonlardır

Related terms

• sonra
• sonlu
• sonsuz
• sonuç
• sonlanmak

References

• “son”, in Turkish dictionaries, Türk Dil Kurumu

Anagrams

• ons

Uzbek

Etymology

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

Noun

son (plural sonlar)

1. thigh

Venetan

Verb

son

1. first-person singular present indicative of èser

Vietnamese

Etymology

This word had initial *k-r- in Old Vietnamese.

Pronunciation

• (Hà Nội) IPA^(key): [sɔn˧˧]
• (Huế) IPA^(key): [ʂɔŋ˧˧] ~ [sɔŋ˧˧]
• (Saigon) IPA^(key): [ʂɔŋ˧˧] ~ [sɔŋ˧˧]

Adjective

son • (侖, 倫, 崙, 󱏟, 󰅬, 𣗾, 𣘈, 𪳔, 𧹪, 𪿽, 󱠟)

1. vermilion

   rệp son ― a cochineal

2. (literary) unshakable; firm

Noun

(classifier thỏi, cây (“lipstick”)) son • (侖, 倫, 崙, 󱏟, 󰅬, 𣗾, 𣘈, 𪳔, 𧹪, 𪿽, 󱠟)

1. red cosmetic
2. (by extension) lipstick

See also

Derived terms

• đỏ son
• sắt son
• son môi
• son phấn
• son sắt
• vàng son

 

Volapük

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [son]

Noun

son (nominative plural sons)

1. son
   • 1952, Arie de Jong, Diatek nulik: Gospul ma ‚Matthaeus’. Kapit: II:

     Se Lägüptän evokob soni obik.

     I called my son out of Egypt.

   • 1952, Arie de Jong, Diatek nulik: Gospul ma ‚Matthaeus’. Kapit: I:

     Ekö! jivirgan ogrodikof, ed omotof soni, keli onemoy eli ‚Emmanuel’, kela tradutod binon: God binom ko obs.

     Look! the virgin is with child and will give birth to a son whom they will call Immanuel, a name which means „God-is-with-us”.

Declension

declension of son

	singular	plural
nominative	son	sons
genitive	sona	sonas
dative	sone	sones
accusative	soni	sonis
vocative 1	o son!	o sons!
predicative 2	sonu	sonus

• ¹ status as a case is disputed
• ² in later, non-classical Volapük only

Synonyms

• hicil

Hypernyms

• cil

Coordinate terms

• daut
• jicil

Derived terms

• leson
• lüson
• posson
• sonef
• sonik
• soniko
• sono

See also

• famül
• fat
• ledaut
• mot
• pal
• palik
• poscil
• posdaut

Zhuang

Etymology

From Proto-Tai *soːlᴬ (“to teach”). Cognate with Thai สอน (sɔ̌ɔn), Northern Thai ᩈᩬᩁ, Lao ສອນ (sǭn), Lü ᦉᦸᧃ (ṡoan), Tai Dam ꪎꪮꪙ, Shan သွၼ် (sǎun), Tai Nüa ᥔᥩᥢᥴ (sóan), Ahom 𑜏𑜨𑜃𑜫 (son).

Pronunciation

• (Standard Zhuang) IPA^(key): /θoːn˨˦/
• Tone numbers: son¹
• Hyphenation: son

Verb

son (1957–1982 spelling son)

1. to teach