daughter
Pluraldaughters
- 1
- 2A girl or woman who comes from a certain person's family line.
Every woman in the village is a daughter of the first settlers.
Centuries later, the women of the family still saw themselves as daughters of the old king.
UsageSay a daughter of a family or people.
Similardescendant
Oppositeson
Note
- 3A woman seen as coming from a place or group, often the town or country where she was born.
The whole town came out to cheer for its famous daughter.
She is a daughter of the city and knows every street by heart.
UsageSay a daughter of the city, or its famous daughter.
Less common meanings
- 4A female character that a writer or artist has created.
Elizabeth Bennet is the most famous daughter of Jane Austen's pen.
The writer called the girl in her first book her eldest daughter.
Similarcreation
- 5A language that grew out of an older language.
Portuguese is a daughter of Latin, the language of ancient Rome.
Spanish and French are both daughters of Latin.
UsageSay a language is a daughter of Latin.
Similardescendant, offshoot
Oppositeparent
- 6In physics, the new atom that is left after a radioactive atom breaks down.
When uranium decays, its daughter is a different element.
Radon gas is a daughter of radium, left behind as the radium breaks down.
Oppositeparent
Note
- 7A way an older person may speak to a girl or woman, which can sound kind or talk down to her.
"Sit down, daughter, and tell me what happened," the priest said.
"Rest now, daughter," the old priest said to the tired girl.
UsageUsed directly as a name when speaking to someone, without a or the.
Similarchild
Oppositeson
- 8In grammar diagrams, a part that hangs directly below a bigger part.
More uses
- daughter cellone of the new cells made when a cell divides
Practice
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Origin
This word comes from Old English "dohtor", meaning daughter. It goes back to very old Germanic and Indo-European roots.
Checked 31 Oct 2026 · 2 facts
- Daughter comes from Old English dohtor, meaning daughter. en.wiktionary.org
- The word has ancient Germanic and Indo-European ancestors. en.wiktionary.org