zoon
English
Alternative forms
- zoön
Etymology
First adopted by Herbert Spencer in Principles of Biology (see 1864 quotation): from New Latin zōon, from Ancient Greek ζῷον (zôion, “animal”).[1]
Pronunciation
- (Received Pronunciation) IPA(key): /ˈzəʊɒn/[1]
Noun
zoon (plural zoa or zoons)
- (biology)[1] An animal which is the sole product of a single egg.
- (biology)[1] 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 The imported definitions may be significantly out of date, and any more recent senses may be completely missing.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, G. & C. Merriam, 1913)
References
- “‖zoon, n.” listed in the Oxford English Dictionary [2nd Ed.; 1989]
Anagrams
- nooz, zono-
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)
- son
- Mijn zoon wil met de jouwe spelen.
- My son wants to play with yours.
Derived terms
- adoptiefzoon
- kleinzoon
- Mensenzoon
- peetzoon
- Zoon des mensen
Descendants
- Afrikaans: seun
- Jersey Dutch: zőn
- Negerhollands: soon, sön
- Skepi Creole Dutch: son
See also
- dochter
Anagrams
- ozon
Esperanto
Pronunciation
Audio (file)
Noun
zoon
- accusative singular of zoo
Limburgish
Alternative forms
- Sonne (Eupen)
- Suohn (Krefeld)
Etymology
From Middle Dutch sōne, from Old Dutch suno, from Proto-Germanic *sunuz, from Proto-Indo-European *suHnús.
Noun
zoon m (plural zeuns)
- son
Yola
Alternative forms
- soon
Etymology
From Middle English sone, from Old English sōna, from Proto-West Germanic *sān(ō).
Adverb
zoon
- soon
References
- Jacob Poole (1867), William Barnes, editor, A Glossary, With some Pieces of Verse, of the old Dialect of the English Colony in the Baronies of Forth and Bargy, County of Wexford, Ireland, London: J. Russell Smith, page 82