progeny

noun

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prog·e·ny | \ ˈprä-jə-nē

plural progenies

Definition of progeny

1a : descendants, children

b : offspring of animals or plants

2 : outcome, product

3 : a body of followers, disciples, or successors

Synonyms The Lineage of Progeny Example Sentences Learn More about progeny

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The Lineage of Progeny

Progeny is the progeny of the Latin verb progignere, 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, which 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 But their pain cannot be healed by payments to their descendants any more than dead slave owners can be punished by taxes on their progeny. — Mona Charen, National Review, "Why Reparations Talk Is Harmful," 20 Sep. 2019 Which means that there's actually room for adults to drive this thing, too (an adjustable pedal box facilitates driver swaps between masters of the universe and their progeny). — Ezra Dyer, Popular Mechanics, "Bugatti Is Building a $33,000 Car for Kids," 18 Sep. 2019 Everywhere, pilfering potentates and their progeny must be nervous. — The Economist, "How to hide a billion dollars," 10 Oct. 2019 Bumping the working-age employment rate up to 75 percent would do more to change the share of the population working than 75 million immigrants and their progeny would. — Steven Camarota, National Review, "Immigration Is No Fix for an Aging Society," 8 July 2019 Popular donors can father 10, 20, 100 or even more progeny - each potentially carrying the same genetic risk factors. — Author: Ariana Eunjung Cha, Anchorage Daily News, "The autistic children of sperm donor H898," 16 Sep. 2019 That’s just a smattering of the big league progeny floating around the majors. — Jon Tayler, SI.com, "Like Father, Like Son: More Kids of Big Leaguers Are on the Way," 14 June 2019 Dominicans are the proud progeny of islanders of differing ancestry who shook off the yoke of Spanish, French, and even U.S. rule to be an independent nation. — Krista Kafer, The Denver Post, "Kafer: A lesson on identity politics from the Dominican Republic," 5 Sep. 2019 Popular donors can father 10, 20, 100 or even more progeny - each potentially carrying the same genetic risk factors. — Author: Ariana Eunjung Cha, Anchorage Daily News, "The autistic children of sperm donor H898," 16 Sep. 2019

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'progeny.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.