son

Etymology 1

From Middle English sonn, sone, sun, sune, from Old English sunu (“son”), from Proto-Germanic *sunuz (“son”), from Proto-Indo-European *suHnús (“son”), from Proto-Indo-European *sewH- (“to bear; give birth”).

noun

1. One's male offspring.
   Before the birth of the man's child, he said: "I want a son, not a daughter."
   From what conſummate vertue I have choſe / This perfect Man, by merit call'd my Son, 1671, John Milton, “The First Book”, in Paradise Regain’d. A Poem. In IV Books. To which is Added, Samson Agonistes, London: […] J. M[acock] for John Starkey[…], →OCLC, lines 165-166, page 10
2. A male adopted person in relation to his adoptive parents.
3. A male person who has such a close relationship with an older or otherwise more authoritative person that he can be regarded as a son of the other person.
4. A male person considered to have been significantly shaped by some external influence.
   He was a son of the mafia system.
5. A male descendant.
   The pharaohs were believed to be sons of the Sun.
6. A familiar address to a male person from an older or otherwise more authoritative person.
   Son, can't you see that she's just a little girl? 1984, “Working on the Highway”, in Bruce Springsteen (music), Born in the U.S.A.
   Shepard: Stay with me. We're almost through this. Admiral Anderson: You did good, son. You did good. I'm proud of you. Shepard: Thank you, sir. Anderson? 2012, BioWare, Mass Effect 3 (Science Fiction), Redwood City: Electronic Arts, →OCLC, PC, scene: Citadel
7. (UK, colloquial) An informal address to a friend or person of equal authority.
8. (computing) The current version of a file, derived from the preceding father file.
   Three generations of file are usually kept, being the grandfather, father and son files. 2004, Ray Bradley, The Ultimate Computing Glossary for Advanced Level, page 31
   After the update, the new file master file is the son. The file from which the father was developed with the transaction files of the appropriate day is the grandfather. The grandfather and son files are stored in different locations. 2007, O. Ray Whittington, Patrick R. Delaney, Wiley CPA Exam Review 2008: Auditing and Attestation, page 779

Etymology 2

From Middle English sonen, sunen, from the noun (see above).

verb

1. (transitive) To produce (i.e. bear, father, beget) a son.
   I sonned a father who would not be sonned, […] 1997, Noel Polk, Outside the Southern Myth
2. (transitive) To address (someone) as "son".
   “Don't 'son' me.” “I'm old enough to be your father,” he said with a dismissive wave of his hand. 2005, Jerry Flesher, Tomorrow I'll Miss You
   “Son—now's not the time, please.” “It's the perfect time—it's the best time fucking time I ever had. There's not gonna be another time, so don't son me, you bastard. […]” 2014, Stuart A. McKeever, Becoming Joey Fizz

Etymology 3

From Spanish son (literally “tone, sound”).

noun

1. (music) Son cubano, a genre of music and dance blending Spanish and African elements that originated in Cuba during the late 19th century.
   When son first emerged in the streets of Havana, in the early twentieth century, it was shut down by the police, as were most forms of African culture. Son groups, conjuntos, caught playing on the street, as was the tradition, had their instruments confiscated. 2017, Mark Kurlansky, Havana: A Subtropical Delirium, Bloomsbury