zoon

See also: zoön, and zo-on

English

Alternative forms

• zoön

Etymology

First adopted by Herbert Spencer in Principles of Biology (see 1864 quotation): from (deprecated template usage) [etyl] New Latin zōon, from (deprecated template usage) [etyl] Ancient Greek ζῷον (zôion, “animal”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈzəʊɒn/

Noun

zoon (plural zoa or zoons)

1. (biology) An animal which is the sole product of a single egg.
2. (biology) Any one of the perfectly developed individuals of a compound animal.

Quotations

• 1864, Herbert Spencer, Principles of Biology, page 205, § 73 (1868 reprint; D. Appleton & Co.)

  [… A] zoological individual is constituted either by any such single animal as a mammal or bird, which may properly claim the title of a zoon, or by any such group of animals as the numerous Medusæ that have been developed from the same egg, which are to be severally distinguished as zooids.

Antonyms

• (an animal which is the sole product of a single egg): zooid

Part or all of this entry has been imported from the 1913 edition of Webster’s Dictionary, which is now free of copyright and hence in the public domain. The imported definitions may be significantly out of date, and any more recent senses may be completely missing.
(See the entry for “zoon”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.)

Anagrams

• zono-

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Dutch

Etymology

From Middle Dutch sōne, from Old Dutch suno, from Proto-Germanic *sunuz, from Proto-Indo-European *suHnús.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /zoːn/

• audio:

  (file)

• Hyphenation: zoon
• Homophone: zo'n
• Rhymes: -oːn

Noun

zoon m (plural zoons or zonen, diminutive zoontje n)

1. son

   Mijn zoon wil met de jouwe spelen.

   My son wants to play with yours.

Derived terms

• kleinzoon
• Mensenzoon
• Zoon des mensen

Descendants

• Afrikaans: seun

See also

• dochter

Anagrams

• ozon

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Esperanto

Pronunciation

• Audio:

  (file)

Noun

zoon

1. accusative singular of zoo

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Limburgish

Etymology

From Middle Dutch sōne, from Old Dutch suno, from Proto-Germanic *sunuz, from Proto-Indo-European *suHnús.

Noun

zoon m (plural zeuns)

1. son