zoon

See also: zoön and zo-on

English

Alternative forms

• zoön

Etymology

Etymology tree

Proto-Indo-European *gʷeyh₃-

Proto-Indo-European *gʷyéh₃-w-os

Proto-Hellenic *d͏̌ōwós

Ancient Greek ζωός (zōós)

Ancient Greek ζώς (zṓs)

Proto-Indo-European *-yóm

Proto-Hellenic

Ancient Greek -ῐον (-ĭon)

Ancient Greek ζώῐ̈ον (zṓĭ̈on)

Ancient Greek ζῷον (zōîon)der.

New Latin zōonbor.

English zoon

First adopted by Herbert Spencer in Principles of Biology (see 1864 quotation): from New Latin zōon, from Ancient Greek ζῷον (zōîon, “animal”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): (Received Pronunciation) /ˈzəʊɒn/

• Audio (Southern England):

  (file)

Noun

zoon (plural zoa or zoons)

1. (biology) A distinct organism.
2. (biology) Any individual produced from a single egg.
3. (biology) The individuals collectively produced from a single egg, also called a compound animal.
4. (biology, uncommon) Any of the individuals of a compound organism.
5. (biology, rare) Zooid.

Usage notes

In 1872, William and Robert Chambers in The Chambers Dictionary defined the term as also referring to the compound animal that is constituted by a group of zooids.

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

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

Derived terms

• archaeozoon
• bryozoon
• cytozoon
• ectozoon
• phytozoon
• zoonal
• zoonerythrin
• zoonic
• zoonite
• zoonule

See also

• compound animal

References

• “zoon”, in Dictionary.com Unabridged, Dictionary.com, LLC, 1995–present, reproduced from Stuart Berg Flexner, editor in chief, Random House Unabridged Dictionary, 2nd edition, New York, N.Y.: Random House, 1993, →ISBN.

Anagrams

• nooz, zono-

Dutch

Alternative forms

• zeun (dialectal)

Etymology

Etymology tree

Proto-Indo-European *sew-?

Proto-Indo-European *sewH-

Proto-Indo-European *suHnús

Proto-Germanic *sunuz

Proto-West Germanic *sunu

Old Dutch *sunu, suno

Middle Dutch sōne

Dutch zoon

From Middle Dutch sōne, from Old Dutch suno, from Proto-West Germanic *sunu, 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 gaat volgend jaar naar de universiteit. ― My son is going to the university next year.

   Ze heeft drie zonen en een dochter. ― She has three sons and one daughter.

   Haar zoontje speelde in de tuin met zijn vriendjes. ― Her little son was playing in the garden with his friends.

Derived terms

• adoptiefzoon
• burgerzoon
• kleinzoon
• Mensenzoon
• peetzoon
• puberzoon
• -s (“patronymic suffix”)
• Zoon des mensen

Descendants

• Afrikaans: seun
• Jersey Dutch: zőn
• Negerhollands: soon, sön
• Skepi Creole Dutch: son

See also

• dochter

Anagrams

• ozon

Esperanto

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈzoon/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Rhymes: -oon
• Syllabification: zo‧on

Noun

zoon

1. accusative singular of zoo

Limburgish

Alternative forms

• Sonne (Eupen)
• Suohn (Krefeld)

Etymology

From Middle Dutch sōne, from Old Dutch suno, from Proto-West Germanic *sunu.

Noun

zoon m (plural zeuns)

1. son

Swedish

Noun

zoon

1. indefinite plural of zoo

Yola

Alternative forms

• soon

Etymology

From Middle English sone, from Old English sōna, from Proto-West Germanic *sān(ō).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /zuːn/, /suːn/

Adverb

zoon

1. soon

References

• Jacob Poole (d. 1827) (before 1828), 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, published 1867, page 82