Daughter

For other uses, see Daughter (disambiguation).
A 1931 photograph of four generations of mothers and daughters
Pierre Mayer with his daughter Constance Mayer, painted by Constance Mayer

A daughter is a female offspring; a girl or a woman in relation to her parents. Daughterhood is the state of being someone's daughter. The male counterpart is a son. Analogously the name is used in several areas to show relations between groups or elements. From biological perspective, a daughter is a first degree relative. The word daughter also has several other connotations attached to it, one of these being used in reference to a female descendant or consanguinity. It can also be used as a term of endearment coming from an elder.

In patriarchal societies, daughters often have different or lesser familial rights than sons. A family may prefer to have sons rather than daughters and subject daughters to female infanticide.[1] In some societies it is the custom for a daughter to be 'sold' to her husband, who must pay a bride price. The reverse of this custom, where the parents pay the husband a sum of money to compensate for the financial burden of the woman and is known as a dowry. The payment of a dowry can be found in societies where women do not labour outside the home.

The number next to each box in the Table of Consanguinity indicates the degree of relationship relative to the given person.
First lady of the United States Betty Ford with her daughter Susan Ford
  1. ^ Stein, Dorothy (1988). "Burning Widows, Burning Brides: The Perils of Daughterhood in India". Pacific Affairs. 61 (3): 465–485. doi:10.2307/2760461. JSTOR 2760461.