eldest son
Oldest male child
The eldest son is the firstborn male child in a family.
Historically, the distinction carried legal and social weight—primogeniture granted eldest sons inheritance rights over siblings: The estate passed to the eldest son.
The term remains common even where such laws no longer apply, distinguishing birth order among brothers: Their eldest son just started college.
- firstbornFirst child born
- birth orderSequence among siblings
- heirOne who receives legacy
- male heirSon due inheritance
- primogenitureEldest inherits all
inheritance · successor · crown prince · brother · sibling · birthright · next in line · crown · throne · father · family name · lineage · dynasty · patriarch · legacy · responsibility · family · family business
- Korean Familyoppa, daughter-in-law, in-laws, extended family, nuclear family
- boysboy, lad, laddie, young boy, little boy
- birth orderfirstborn, lastborn, middle child, only child, youngest
- paternal lineagepaternal line, patrilineage, male line, patriarch, paterfamilias
- successionheir apparent, heir presumptive, line of succession, primogeniture, successor
- cadencylabel, crescent, mullet, annulet, fleur-de-lis
birth order
eldest sonyoungest son
Final male offspring
baby of the family · youngest child · last-born · baby brother · baby boy