# single term for "sons and daughters"



## abdo

is there a word for both sons and daughters?
and i do not mean the offspring

thank you


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## stezza

...children...


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## WongFeiHung

Not "children"?
If you mean just 'sons and daughters' in general, then how bout 'people'!  Cause everybody is either a son or a daughter, no?


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## SwissPete

abdo said:


> is there a word for both sons and daughters?
> and *I* do not mean the offspring
> 
> thank you


 
Welcome to the forum.
If you don't mean the offspring(s), then what do you mean?


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## abdo

i mean adult sons and daughters


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## vachecow

Hi abdo!  Welcome!
If you don't like children you could try
kids or descendants


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## abdo

welcome swiss
some term that is confined to adult direct sons and daughters


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## Ecossaise

Why cannot adult sons and daughters be "offspring"? They can also be "progeny" or "scions"


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## AWordLover

Hi abdo,

I love puzzles!

Could you give us an example sentence. Just use <direct adult sons or daughters> where you want us to put the replacement term or phrase.

Thank you,
AWordLover


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## SwissPete

Your sons and daughters are still your children, no matter how old they are. So saying _my children_, or _my adult children_ is fine.


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## abdo

it is a religous context that speak about what the father should tell his daughters and sons 
so i am looking for a single term, if any, for that formal context
thank you all


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## Tu2Bene

If the context is religious how about _progeny.  _The father should tell his progeny XYZ. ...


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## abdo

According to Longman Contemprary 
prog‧e‧ny / ˈprɒdʒni $ ˈprɑː- / [uncountable]
1
formal the babies of animals or plants
ￚsynonym offspring
2
someone's children - used humorously
ￚsynonym offspringSarah with her numerous progeny
3
something that develops from something else
progeny of
Connolly's book is the progeny of an earlier TV series.


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## AWordLover

abdo said:


> it is a religous context that speak about what the father should tell his daughters and sons
> so i am looking for a single term, if any, for that formal context
> thank you all


 
I'm not sure maybe one of the following: father tells his...

issue, offspring, heirs, progeny,seed

Those were my favorites from http://thesaurus.reference.com/browse/children


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## NileQT87

My personal favorite is "spawn", or actually "hell spawn"... but that is my bizarre sense of humor and love for the supernatural talking. "Spawn" can have a somewhat humorous element because of its use for bizarre fantasy offspring (Rosemary's Baby, for example), even though that word doesn't have that meaning in a formal serious context.

Progeny, offspring, children and descendants are all formal ways to refer to one's kids, no matter how old they are. A great-grandparent could call their child still their child, even if that kid old enough to be collecting social security.


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## Tu2Bene

abdo said:


> According to Longman Contemprary
> prog‧e‧ny / ˈprɒdʒni $ ˈprɑː- / [uncountable]
> 1
> formal the babies of animals or plants
> ￚsynonym offspring
> 2
> someone's children - used humorously
> ￚsynonym offspringSarah with her numerous progeny
> 3
> something that develops from something else
> progeny of
> Connolly's book is the progeny of an earlier TV series.


 
not always used humorously,  it makes sense in a serious religious context.


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## jennball

Your children are still your children, no matter how old they are.


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## curly

I never get tired of "the fruit of his loins"


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## abdo

thank you all
it seems that we will finally use children 

according Collins Cobuild 


    2        Someone's children are their sons and daughters of any age.
        How are the children?...
        The young couple decided to have a child.
        N-COUNT  

(c) HarperCollins Publishers.


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## NileQT87

curly said:


> I never get tired of "the fruit of his loins"



lol. That is one of the best. Though, it kinda reminds me of a Greek myth where Zeus gives birth... which is just bizarre. It gives a whole new level of literalness to that expression. Aphrodite's/Venus' birth is funny in that context as well.

For all non-fluent speakers out there--this term can be very funny and sarcastic, but certainly not formal.

The rest are, however.


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## .   1

abdo said:


> is there a word for both sons and daughters?
> and i do not mean the offspring


I suspect that you may mean siblings.

I have three siblings, one brother and two sisters.
How many people have siblings?  (brothers or sisters)
Most people experience sibling rivalry as they grow up. (Brothers and sisters try to kill each other)

.,,


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## Musical Chairs

"children" = "kids"

but "kids" is more informal


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## Harry Batt

Abdo   The term you are looking for is "SIBLINGS.'' It is not an academic word. It is common usage. It means simply the sons and daughters, depending on the context. EG. [Q] How many siblings in your family,Harry?  [reply] Well I had 1 brother and 2 sisters.  [Q] No, I mean in your own family. {reply] Oh, well we have 6 siblings in all. 4 boys and 2 girls. [Q] What  about Jack? [reply ] Well, Jack is a son from my wife's first marriage. Would he be a sibling? [Q] Maybe not legally, but it simplifies things if you count him as a sibling.   I hope this solves the sons and daughters question.


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## NileQT87

Siblings is only if they are your brothers and sisters, though. A parent doesn't refer to their children as siblings, unless they are referring to the perspective of their children. You would say "they are siblings" (meaning they aren't siblings of yours), but if you said "they are my siblings", you'd be referring to brothers and sisters of yours.

Childe is another term (albeit, very archaic):

In the Middle Ages, a childe was the eldest son of a nobleman who had not yet attained to knighthood, or had not yet won his spurs. It can also mean a child of noble birth. The term is now obsolete, but is still well-known from poetry, such as Robert Browning's "Childe Roland to the Dark Tower Came" and Lord Byron's "Childe Harold's Pilgrimage".

The term also exists, albeit with a different meaning, in the roleplaying game "Vampire: The Masquerade" and various spin-offs. It signifies the "offspring" of a vampire, in this respect called a "sire". The terms "sire" and "childe" are used liberally in the vampire fiction genre.


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## Harry Batt

Nile, yes, legally all the children of one or both parents are siblings. However, in this modern era parents are equitably holding out the combined children of a 2nd marriage as sibliongs. The boys are encouraged to call each other brothers and the girls sisters. It has no legal effect in the laws of  descent if the deceased dies intestate. And, of course, by a will it makes no difference since the testator can dole out his estate as he pleases subject to legal limitations. I have this equitably bound famiy with my youngest daughters second marriage. Her son and the son and daughter of her husband have established a brother-sister relationship. When that relationship enters a conversation with a stranger explanations are needed. Next, there is the thorn of adoption but let's not get into that.


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## NileQT87

Here's an example: the Brady Bunch. The boys weren't related to the girls, but they definitely all referred to each other as siblings, brothers and sisters.

A family isn't always blood-related, but you could have several adopted children who are completely unrelated to each other, but they grow up perceiving each other as siblings.


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## Ali Smith

curly said:


> I never get tired of "the fruit of his loins"


I once heard it in a Simpsons episode. If the Simpsons can use it, it can't be that outdated, can it?


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## velisarius

It's biblical language used facetiously, just a joke.


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## Ali Smith

velisarius said:


> It's biblical language used facetiously, just a joke.


So, if I were in America and had guests over and my little kids walked in unexpectedly, would my American guests find it strange if I gestured at my kids and exclaimed, “The fruit of my loins!”?


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## Loob

Ali Smith said:


> So, if I were in America and had guests over and my little kids walked in unexpectedly, would my American guests find it strange if I gestured at my kids and exclaimed, “The fruit of my lions!”?


I think you mean "loins", not "lions".

Your guests would probably think you were being humorous.


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## natkretep

Yes. It could also show great pride in your children too. I think humour and pride can go together. (In the right context, it could be ironic too!)


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## Roxxxannne

Ali Smith said:


> So, if I were in America and had guests over and my little kids walked in unexpectedly, would my American guests find it strange if I gestured at my kids and exclaimed, “The fruit of my loins!”?


Strange? Yes definitely.  It's a very odd way to introduce your children.   I bet half the people in the room would quickly glance at your crotch and the other half would try to come up with something about your wife bearing the fruit. I myself would ask whether you had named any of them clementine.


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## Ali Smith

Why? What's wrong with the female name "Clementine"?


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## Roxxxannne

It's the name of a fruit.


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## suzi br

Ali Smith said:


> Why? What's wrong with the female name "Clementine"?


It's a fruit! 

Seriously your suggestion is a bit bizarre and that's why people are having a little laugh in here.


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## velisarius

It's as bizarre (or archly amusing) as a mother talking about "the fruit of my womb".
I think the children, if not your friends, would be highly embarrassed.


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## Ali Smith

velisarius said:


> I think the children, if not your friends, would be highly embarrassed.


But why? Surely they wouldn't focus on the last word of "The fruit of my loins"!

Stupid autocorrect!


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## Myridon

Ali Smith said:


> But why? Surely they wouldn't focus on the last word of "The fruit of my lions"!


Again, there's a big difference between loins and lions (let's not have another "pride" joke).
Young children are fascinated by mentions of genitalia, underwear, toilets, ...  Older children still don't like to think that their parents have sex.
They probably would also find it hilarious to be called "fruit".


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## Aguas Claras

1. The word is "loins" not "lions".
2. The expression is biblical and is no longer in use except for ironical or humorous purposes.
3. The normal word is "children", whether they are five or fifty years old. "I would like to introduce my children".
4. "Offspring" and "progeny" are more formal terms but you wouldn't use them to introduce your children or to refer to someone else's children, unless you were being ironic in some way. "He arrived at the party with his numerous offspring".


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## Roxxxannne

I assume that the children are too young to know what 'loins' means and the following conversation would ensue:
Father: (gestures at his children) The fruit of my loins!
Children: Daddy, what are loins?
Father: (following the WR definitions) The hips and the inner surface of the legs where they join the trunk of the body; crotch. It's a euphemism for the reproductive organs. 
Child: Daddy, what are reproduck organs?"
etc.
Meanwhile the guests are laughing and cracking jokes of their own, because adults were once children who were fascinated by genitalia.

Also, it's an odd way for a man to speak of his children; his reproductive organs stopped having anything to do with the children's existence quite a while ago.  It sounds like "Voilà! The results of my having sex on some occasions a few years ago."


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## suzi br

Ali Smith said:


> So, if I were in America and had guests over and my little kids walked in unexpectedly, would my American guests find it strange if I gestured at my kids and exclaimed, “The fruit of my loins!”?


You have been told unequivocally that this is a bad idea. Your guest would find it strange. 

At #37 you seem to be asking why would they find it strange, which has also already been answered.  

This is a phrase for using with consenting adults in private contexts.  It can be used seriously or for comic effect, but in either case not in front of your kids, with friends who don't already know you  well enough  to know your kids. 

 Otherwise keep it in a box labelled passive vocabulary - we know what it means but we don't have much call to use it ourselves.


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## Wordy McWordface

suzi br said:


> You have been told unequivocally that this is a bad idea. Your guest would find it strange.


And your kids would be so embarrassed that they would never forgive you.

Don't say it.


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## dojibear

Ali Smith said:


> "The fruit of my loins"!


This is a reference to sex. Literally it means "the result of my sex organs". Do you talk about your adult children that way? If your adult son is named Achmed, do you introduce him to a friend by saying: 

"Meet Achmed -- he is the result of me having sex once, 24 years ago."

If Achmed is American, Achmed will be offended. If your friend is American, your friend will be shocked. 

But customs are different -- in Pakistan, in Urdu, this might be normal.


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