Word of the Day

: August 1, 2008

progeny

noun PRAH-juh-nee

What It Means

1 a : descendants, children

b : offspring of animals or plants

2 : outcome, product

3 : a body of followers, disciples, or successors

progeny in Context

The champion thoroughbred passed on his speed, endurance, and calm temperament to his progeny, many of whom became successful racehorses themselves.

Did You Know?

"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."