son

See also: Appendix:Variations of "son"

Languages (48)

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Page categories

Translingual

Symbol

son

(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 (Received Pronunciation): (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)

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,
A male adopted person in relation to his adoptive parents.
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.
A male person considered to have been significantly shaped by social conflict.
He was a son of the mafia system.
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.
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?
(UK, New York City, colloquial) An informal address to a friend or person of equal authority.
(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

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)

(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, […]
(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)

(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.

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

Sun, sun (star of the solar system)

Derived terms

Aromanian

Etymology

From Latin sonus. Compare Daco-Romanian sun.

Noun

son n (plural sonuri)

sound

Related terms

asun

Ashkun

Etymology

Borrowed from a descendant of Sanskrit सुवर्ण (suvárṇa).

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /ˈson/

Noun

son (Sanu)^[1]

gold

References

^ Strand, Richard F. (2016) “s′on”, in Nûristânî Etymological Lexicon‎^[1]

Asturian

Etymology

From Latin sunt.

Verb

son

third-person plural present indicative of ser

Azerbaijani

Other scripts
Cyrillic		сон
Abjad		سوْن

Etymology

From Proto-Turkic *soŋ (“back, end”).^[1] Compare Turkish son below.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): [son]
Audio: (file)

Noun

son (definite accusative sonu, plural sonlar)

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

recent, latest
last, final
Synonym: axırıncı

ötən əsrin son onilliyi ― last decade of the previous century

References

^ Starostin, Sergei, Dybo, Anna, Mudrak, Oleg (2003) “*soŋ”, in Etymological dictionary of the Altaic languages (Handbuch der Orientalistik; VIII.8)‎^[2], Leiden, New York, Köln: E.J. Brill

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)

his, her, its
their
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.

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)

sleep

Noun

son f (uncountable)

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

imperative of sone

Faroese

Noun

son

indefinite accusative singular of sonur

Finnish

Pronunciation

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

Contraction

son

(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)

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

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)

sound
Le son de ce piano est agréable.
The sound of this piano is nice.
(slang) music
Synonyms: musique, morceau

C’est une bête de son ce truc !
That thing is one hell of a music!
.

Derived terms

Related terms

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)

(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	plural
Possessor	singular	1^st	mon¹	ma	mes
		2^nd	ton¹	ta	tes
		3^rd	son¹	sa	ses
	plural	1^st	notre		nos
		2^nd	votre²		vos²
		3^rd	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)

bran
Ceci est du pain de son.
This bread is done with bran.

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)

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

Etymology 2

Alternative forms

som (reintegrationist)
são (reintegrationist)

Verb

son

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

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)

Icelandic

Noun

son

indefinite accusative singular of sonur

Indonesian

Indonesian Wikipedia has an article on:

son

Wikipedia ^id

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)

(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

(historical, 1942-1945) Synonym of kecamatan

Suffix

son

(historical, 1942-1945) Synonym of kecamatan

Irish

Noun

son

Only used in ar son

Istriot

Verb

son

first-person singular present indicative of ièsi
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

Apocopic form of sono

Japanese

Romanization

son

Rōmaji transcription of そん

Ladin

Etymology 1

Alternative forms

sun

Verb

son

first-person singular present indicative of ester

Etymology 2

Alternative forms

sun
sion

Verb

son

third-person singular present indicative of ester

Lower Sorbian

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): [sɔn]

Noun

son m anim

(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

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?
by
Dy cadjin ta mee ec y thie son queig er y chlag.
I'm usually home by five o'clock.
(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

Alternative form of sonne (“sun”)

Etymology 2

Noun

son

Alternative form of sone (“son”)

Middle French

Etymology

From Old French son.

Noun

son m (plural sons)

sound

Descendants

French: son

Mirandese

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /ˈsõ/

Verb

son

third-person plural present of ser

Northern Sami

Etymology

From Proto-Samic *sonë.

Pronunciation

This entry needs pronunciation information. If you are familiar with the IPA then please add some!

Pronoun

son

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

Norwegian Nynorsk

Norwegian Nynorsk Wikipedia has an article on:

son

Wikipedia ⁿⁿ

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)

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)

his; her; its
Synonyms: seu, sieu

Etymology 2

Verb

son

third-person plural present indicative of èsser

Old English

Etymology

From Latin sonus.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /soːn/

Noun

sōn m

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)

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

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

sound

Inflection

Masculine o-stem
	Singular	Dual	Plural
Nominative	son	son^L	suin^L
Vocative	suin	son^L	sunu^H
Accusative	son^N	son^L	sunu^H
Genitive	suin^L	son	son^N
Dative	sun^L	sonaib	sonaib
Initial mutations of a following adjective: ^H = triggers aspiration ^L = triggers lenition ^N = triggers nasalization

Etymology 2

Pronoun

son

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.

Old Norse

Noun

son

accusative singular of sonr

Old Swedish

Alternative forms

sun

Etymology

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

Noun

son m

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)

son, male child

Derived terms

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

Scottish Gaelic

Noun

son m (indeclinable)

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)

Colloquial form of airson.

Alternative forms

'son

Skolt Sami

Etymology

From Proto-Samic *sonë.

Pronoun

son

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	—	—

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).^[1] Compare English sound and Portuguese som.

Noun

son m (plural sones)

tone (pleasant sound)
(music, genre, uncountable) son (Afro-Cuban musical form)
Synonym: son cubano
(music) musical composition in this form

Derived terms

Related terms

sonar

Etymology 2

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

Verb

son

third-person plural present indicative of ser

References

^ Joan Coromines, José A[ntonio] Pascual (1983–1991) “son”, in Diccionario crítico etimológico castellano e hispánico [Critic Castilian and Hispanic Etymological Dictionary] (in Spanish), Madrid: Gredos

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

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

a son
Antonym: dotter

Declension

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

Related terms

-son (see there for more derivations)

Etymology 2

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

Noun

son

definite singular of so

References

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

last, final
Antonym: ilk

Noun

son (definite accusative sonu, plural sonlar)

end, ending
sona erdirmek ― bring to an end, put an end to
consequence, result, conclusion

Declension

Inflection

Nominative

son

Definite accusative

sonu

Singular

Plural

Nominative

son

Definite accusative

Dative

Locative

Ablative

Genitive

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

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)

thigh

Venetan

Verb

son

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, 󱠟)

vermilion
rệp son ― a cochineal
(literary) unshakable; firm

Noun

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

red cosmetic
(by extension) lipstick

Volapük

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): [son]

Noun

son (nominative plural sons)

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

Derived terms

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)

to teach

[NEL-1] Strand, Richard F. (2016) “s′on”, in Nûristânî Etymological Lexicon‎^[1]

[2] Starostin, Sergei, Dybo, Anna, Mudrak, Oleg (2003) “*soŋ”, in Etymological dictionary of the Altaic languages (Handbuch der Orientalistik; VIII.8)‎^[2], Leiden, New York, Köln: E.J. Brill

[3] Joan Coromines, José A[ntonio] Pascual (1983–1991) “son”, in Diccionario crítico etimológico castellano e hispánico [Critic Castilian and Hispanic Etymological Dictionary] (in Spanish), Madrid: Gredos

[1]

[1]

[1]

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

son

Translingual

Symbol

English

Alternative forms

Pronunciation

Etymology 1

Noun

Antonyms

Hypernyms

Derived terms

Translations

Etymology 2

Verb

Etymology 3

Noun

Further reading

Anagrams

Afrikaans

Etymology

Pronunciation

Proper noun

Derived terms

Aromanian

Etymology

Noun

Related terms

Ashkun

Etymology

Pronunciation

Noun

References

Asturian

Etymology

Verb

Azerbaijani

Etymology

Pronunciation

Noun

Declension

Derived terms

Adjective

References

Catalan

Etymology 1

Pronunciation

Determiner

Usage notes

See also

References

Etymology 2

Alternative forms

Pronunciation

Noun

Noun

Derived terms

Related terms

References

Danish

Verb

Faroese

Noun

Finnish

Pronunciation

Contraction

Usage notes

Franco-Provençal

Etymology

Determiner

See also

References

French

Etymology 1

Pronunciation

Noun

Derived terms

Related terms

Etymology 2

Pronunciation

Determiner