son
A male child in relation to his parents.
PIE *suHnús
Etymology
From Old English sunu, from Proto-Germanic *sunuz, from PIE *suHnús "son," derived from the root *sewH- "to give birth." The word literally meant "the born one." This is one of the oldest and most stable kinship terms in the Indo-European family.
The Journey: *suHnús → son
PIE~4500 BCE
*suHnús
Proto-Germanic~500 BCE
*sunuz
Old English~450 CE
sunu
Middle English~1200 CE
sone
Modern English~1500 CE
son
Cognates Across Languages
These words in other languages descend from the same PIE root *suHnús. They are not borrowings but independent inheritances from a common ancestor.
| Language | Word |
|---|---|
| Gothic | sunus |
| Sanskrit | sūnú |
| Old Irish | suth (birth) |
| Lithuanian | sūnùs |
| Old Church Slavonic | synŭ |
Did You Know?
The word "son" has remained recognisable over millennia — PIE *suHnús, Sanskrit sūnú, Old English sunu, Modern English "son." While the pronunciation has changed (the -u- ending was lost, the vowel shifted), the core of the word is still identifiable across 6,000 years of language change.