scion
UK /ˈsaɪən/ · US /ˈsaɪ.ən/ noun
Forms scions
- noun A descendant, especially a first-generation descendant of a distinguished family.
- noun The heir to a throne.
- noun A guardian.
- noun (botany) A detached shoot or twig containing buds from a woody plant, used in grafting; a shoot or twig in a general sense.
Etymology
From Middle English sion, sioun, syon, scion, cion, from Old French cion, ciun, cyon, sion, from Frankish *kīþō, *kīþ, from Proto-Germanic *kīþô, *kīþą, *kīþaz (“sprout”), from Proto-Indo-European *geye- (“to split open, sprout”), same source as Old English ċīþ (“a young shoot; sprout; germ; sprig”), Old Saxon kīth (“sprout; germ”), Old High German kīdi (“offshoot; sprout; germ”). See also French scion and Picard chion. Doublet of chit.
Webster’s 1913
- noun (a) A shoot or sprout of a plant; a sucker.
- noun Hence, a descendant; an heir; as, a scion of a royal stock.
Etymology [OF. cion, F. scion, probably fron scier to saw, fr. L. secare to cut. Cf. Section.]
Sources: Wiktionary · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “scion”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details