Definition of SCION

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.

Examples of scion in a Sentence

He's a scion of a powerful family.

Recent Examples on the Web

The rebel scion of a prominent Charleston, S.C., family, Mr. Rittenberg, who joined and quit the American Communist Party, arrived in China as an Army private just as World War II ended. — Robert D. Mcfadden, New York Times, "Sidney Rittenberg, Idealistic American Aide to Mao Who Evolved to Counsel Capitalists, Dies at 98," 24 Aug. 2019 And if that meant antagonizing her withholding father by consulting on the presidential campaign of one of his biggest political enemies, well, that's just a bonus for the Roys' most competent and overlooked scion. — Julie Kosin, Harper's BAZAAR, "Who Won the Succession Game of Thrones This Week?," 12 Aug. 2019 Each Bradford scion would be genetically identical, but the rootstocks each had their own DNA. — Adrian Higgins, The Seattle Times, "Scientists thought they had created the perfect tree. But it became a nightmare.," 17 Sep. 2018 The 38-year-old scion of the nation’s most famous political family paid for a poll in recent weeks testing a matchup against the 73-year-old Markey, according to two Democratic operatives familiar with the poll. — Victoria Mcgrane, BostonGlobe.com, "Memo to Joe Kennedy: It’s still the people’s seat, not the Kennedy seat," 19 Aug. 2019 Many observers believed that Hamza, the young, millennial scion of the group’s founder, could be the answer to al-Qaeda’s prayers. — Jennifer Williams, Vox, "Osama bin Laden’s son, the “Crown Prince of Terror,” is dead. Or is he?," 1 Aug. 2019 William Bruce Harrison, the scion to an oil fortune, now owns 19 mountains in Colorado. — Julie Turkewitz, New York Times, "Who Gets to Own the West?," 22 June 2019 The scion of a political family and the son of a former governor, Mr Rosselló was only midway through his first term. — A.r. | Chicago, The Economist, "The resignation of Ricardo Rosselló," 25 July 2019 Performing from memory, the scion of one of the world’s great guitar families held pavilion and lawn in the palms of his nigh-on-magical hands. — Zachary Lewis, cleveland.com, "Heat prompts Cleveland Orchestra to rise on humid evenings at Blossom," 22 July 2019

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.