Definition of PROGENY

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

Summer's about reacquainting ourselves and our progeny with nature's bounty, swimming pools, backyards and family. — Sonja Haller, USA TODAY, "Netflix's summer sneak peek has some fun picks for kids and families," 21 May 2018 The study’s authors, led by Shameem Sultana Syeda of the University of Minnesota, are optimistic that, with further aiming, the poison’s progeny could one day strike as a safe, reversible male contraceptive. — Beth Mole, Ars Technica, "Poison arrows inspire new male contraceptive, scientists report," 21 Jan. 2018 His youngest progeny, junior Kody, currently leads UT in nearly every essential offensive category. — Nick Moyle, Houston Chronicle, "Roger Clemens donates $1 million to help UT build new indoor baseball facility," 24 Apr. 2018 But the dude is looking top form and can pull off his own screen progeny. — Bryan Alexander, USA TODAY, "'Top Gun 2' is casting Goose's son: Here's who we need to see in 'Maverick'," 28 June 2018 In professional sports, if not the dictionary, policy follows progeny. — Karen Crouse, New York Times, "Mothers in Tennis Grow in Influence," 9 July 2018 Blurring the boundaries between menswear and womenswear is something that these ’90s rock progenies are naturals at (alongside models Erin Mommsen and Noé Martin). — Vogue, "Zoë Kravitz and Lennon Gallagher Star in Saint Laurent’s Homage to Youth Rebellion," 19 June 2018 The Duke of Cambridge was effectively upstaged at the event by his adorable progeny, Prince George and Princess Charlotte. — Cady Lang, Time, "The Most Adorable Princess Charlotte and Prince George Moments at Prince William's Polo Match," 11 June 2018 Assuming that aliens who are at least as intelligent and technologically advanced as humans would develop their own AI, there may be more robotic AI progeny out there than their mortal, biological inventors, Walker said. — Hanneke Weitering, Scientific American, "How Theoretical Physicists Can Help Find Aliens," 28 June 2018

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.