A plant stem or twig cut for grafting or rooting; a scion.
Variant spelling of 'scion,' from Old French 'cion' meaning a plant shoot. The word derives from Latin roots related to cutting and splitting, originally referring to anything that could be separated from a plant.
The spelling 'cion' versus 'scion' is one of English's great spelling inconsistencies—both are correct, but 'scion' became dominant in the 1600s even though 'cion' is technically the original horticultural term used by gardeners.
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