progeny

noun

prog·​e·​ny ˈprä-jə-nē How to pronounce progeny (audio)
plural progenies
1
b
: offspring of animals or plants
2
3
: a body of followers, disciples, or successors

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The Lineage of Progeny

Progeny is the progeny of the Latin verb prōgignere, meaning "to beget." That Latin word is itself an offspring of the prefix pro-, meaning "forth," and gignere, which can mean "to beget" or "to bring forth." Gignere has produced a large family of English descendants, including benign (meaning "mild" or "harmless"), congenital (meaning "inherent"), engine, genius, germ, indigenous, ingenuous, and malign. Gignere even paired up with pro- again to produce a close relative of progeny: the noun progenitor can mean "an ancestor in the direct line," "a biologically ancestral form," or "a precursor or originator."

Examples of progeny in a Sentence

Many Americans are the progeny of immigrants. The small plants are the progeny of an oak tree. Their work is the progeny of many earlier studies.
Recent Examples on the Web If traditional scones and southern ham biscuits got together, Bush’s scones would be their progeny. Olga Massov, Washington Post, 16 Mar. 2024 There’s nothing people on social media like doing more than making up quotes from their child and pretending their progeny is wise beyond their years. Aluf Benn, Foreign Affairs, 29 Feb. 2024 If the number dips gravely low, Walnut’s progeny may be introduced into the wild to replenish the population and save her kind. Elaine Godfrey, The Atlantic, 10 Feb. 2024 In short order, its lineage would become the only one of consequence, its progeny able to out-compete all other viral combinations evolution sent its way. Erin Prater, Fortune Well, 4 Jan. 2024 None of this is new to a veteran of XCOM, or even that game’s progeny, like Mario + Rabbids. Kevin Purdy, Ars Technica, 8 Oct. 2023 The question now is whether the hiring practice — and its progeny in corporate America — will stay in the game much longer amid a wave of legal challenges to workplace diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives. Julian Mark, Washington Post, 6 Feb. 2024 Unfortunately, the begging bird was the progeny of a brood parasite, a brown-headed cowbird. Taylor Piephoff, Charlotte Observer, 31 Jan. 2024 That this clan consisted of the progeny of the tenth-century Prince Vladimir, the famous Christianizer of the Rus, was often unimportant to contemporaries. Foreign Affairs, 12 Dec. 2023

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'progeny.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Middle English progenie, borrowed from Anglo-French, borrowed from Latin prōgeniēs, from prōgen-, variant stem of prōgignere "to produce as offspring, bring into being" + -iēs, deverbal and denominal noun suffix — more at progenitor

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Time Traveler
The first known use of progeny was in the 14th century

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Dictionary Entries Near progeny

Cite this Entry

“Progeny.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/progeny. Accessed 28 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

progeny

noun
prog·​e·​ny ˈpräj-(ə-)-nē How to pronounce progeny (audio)
plural progenies
1
: human descendants : children
2
: offspring of animals or plants

Medical Definition

progeny

noun
prog·​e·​ny ˈpräj-(ə-)nē How to pronounce progeny (audio)
plural progenies
: offspring of animals or plants

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