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offspring - 6 dictionary results

off⋅spring

  [awf-spring, of-]
Use offspring in a Sentence
–noun, plural -spring, -springs.
1. children or young of a particular parent or progenitor.
2. a child or animal in relation to its parent or parents.
3. a descendant.
4. descendants collectively.
5. the product, result, or effect of something: the offspring of an inventive mind.
Origin:
bef. 950; ME; OE ofspring; see off, of 1 , spring ( v. )
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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off·spring   (ôf'sprĭng', ŏf'-)   
n.   pl. offspring
  1. The progeny or descendants of a person, animal, or plant considered as a group.
  2. A child of particular parentage.
  3. A result; a product.

[Middle English ofspring, from Old English : of, off; see off + springan, to rise.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Offspring

Off"spring`\, n.sing. & pl. [Off + spring.]

1. The act of production; generation. [Obs.]

2. That which is produced; a child or children; a descendant or descendants, however remote from the stock.

To the gods alone Our future offspring and our wives are known. --Dryden.

3. Origin; lineage; family. [Obs.] --Fairfax.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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offspring 
O.E. ofspring "children or young collectively, descendants," lit. "those who spring off (someone,)" from off + springan "to spring" (see spring (v.)). The fig. sense is first recorded 1609.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Main Entry: off·spring
Pronunciation: 'of-"spri[ng]
Function: noun
Inflected Form: plural offspring also offsprings
: the progeny of an animal or plant : YOUNG
Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary, © 2002 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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offspring off·spring (ôf'sprĭng')
n.

  1. The progeny or descendants of a person, an animal, or a plant considered as a group.
  2. A child of particular parentage.

The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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