scion

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noun sci·on \ ˈsī-ən \

Definition of scion

1 :a detached living portion of a plant (such as a bud or shoot) joined to a stock in grafting and usually supplying solely aerial parts to a graft

2 a :descendant, child; especially :a descendant of a wealthy, aristocratic, or influential family

b :heir 1

scion of a railroad empire

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scion was our Word of the Day on 10/11/2016. Hear the podcast!

Examples of scion in a Sentence

He's a scion of a powerful family.

Recent Examples of scion from the Web

TOKYO — Lee Jae-yong, the scion of the Samsung dynasty and arguably the most powerful man in South Korea, was found guilty Friday for his part in a huge corruption scandal that had already brought down a president.

— anna fifield, Washington Post, "Samsung’s heir apparent found guilty of corruption, sentenced to five years in jail," 25 Aug. 2017
Ruling Family The sheikh is a scion of a ruling family branch that was in power for decades until 1972.

— zainab fattah, Bloomberg.com, "Little-Known Qatari Sheikh Embraced by Saudi in Surprise Move," 20 Aug. 2017
In another example of Kushner's reported ability to hold a grudge, staffers at the Observer have spoken about how Kushner ordered a hit piece on fellow real estate scion Richard Mack after their business relationship soured.

— helin jung, Cosmopolitan, "Who Is Jared Kushner? 21 Things You Need to Know About Donald Trump's Son-in-Law.," 24 July 2017
His appointment as chairman (which at Tata is essentially the CEO role) followed an abrupt board decision last October to sack Tata Sons’ previous chairman, Cyrus Mistry, a scion of the family that remains Tata’s largest private shareholder.

— clay chandler, Fortune, "How Tata’s New Chairman Plans to Fix India’s Biggest Company," 21 July 2017
Its almost comical falseness has since created a mounting set of problems for the presidential scion.

— benjamin hart, Daily Intelligencer, "Trump Campaign Began Paying Trump Jr.’s Lawyer Weeks Before Email Story Broke," 15 July 2017
Dowdy and Dr. Glenn Pait, of the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences' Spine Clinic in Little Rock, aren't the first to describe the Kennedy family scion's back woes.

— karen pallarito, CBS News, "JFK's secret struggle with back pain," 12 July 2017
That person was Reed Cordish, the 43-year-old scion of billionaire real estate developer David Cordish.

— jeffrey mervis, Science | AAAS, "Trump’s White House science office still small and waiting for leadership," 11 July 2017
In 1976, Baron Hans-Heinrich Thyssen-Bornemisza, scion of Germany's Thyssen steel empire and one of the 20th century's most prominent art collectors, acquired it from New York gallery owner Stephen Hahn for $275,000.

— john wilkens, sandiegouniontribune.com, "Family's suit revived over Pissarro painting looted by the Nazis," 10 July 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'scion.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Get Familial With scion

Scion derives from the Middle English sioun and Old French cion and is related to the Old English cīth and the Old High German kīdi (meaning "sprout" or "shoot"). When it first sprouted in English in the 14th century, scion meant "a shoot or twig." That sense withered in horticultural contexts, but the word branched out, adding the grafting-related meaning we know today. A figurative sense also blossomed referring to one's descendants, with particular reference to those who are descendants of notable families.