progeny
noun
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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 prō-, meaning “forth,” and gignere, which can mean “to beget” or “to bring forth.” Gignere has produced a large family of English descendants, including benign, engine, genius, germ, indigenous, and genuine. Gignere even paired up with prō- 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
Krista Kafer, Denver Post, 27 Mar. 2026
Caldwell’s own progeny made up no small part of that explosion (his son and several of his grandchildren have competed in the Olympics), and at Vermont’s Putney School Caldwell coached America’s first cross-country superstar, Bill Koch, who won an Olympic medal in 1976.
—Bill McKibben, New Yorker, 24 Mar. 2026
Parents and progeny can also enjoy the Daphne Massage and Little Glow facial together at Cape Sounio on the Athens Riviera.
—Kathryn Romeyn, HollywoodReporter, 24 Mar. 2026
Only a shadow of these forests’ old-growth trees remain as their second-growth progeny continue to be felled.
—Evan Mills, Mercury News, 15 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for progeny
Cite this Entry
“Progeny.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/progeny. Accessed 29 Mar. 2026.
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progeny
noun
