progeny

noun

prog·​e·​ny ˈprä-jə-nē 

plural progenies

1

a

: descendants, children

b

: offspring of animals or plants

2

: outcome, product

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."

Synonyms

• fruit
• get
• issue
• offspring
• posterity
• seed
• spawn

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

Camouflage patterns and rasta colors adorn noticeably giddy attendees of all ages as the iconic musician’s progeny share his music and its timeless message. —Jeff Ihaza, Rolling Stone, 11 Oct. 2024

His challengers this time were not Wall Street bankers but his own progeny. —Peter Bart, Deadline, 18 Sep. 2024

General Hospital has recast the pair’s progeny, Aiden Spencer, with actor Colin Cassidy, beginning with the Sept. 30 episode, Soap Opera Digest reports. —Vlada Gelman, TVLine, 30 Sep. 2024

With his musical progeny in Frank Gehry’s concert hall, Dudamel had the unmistakable appearance of having come home. —Mark Swed, Los Angeles Times, 3 Sep. 2024

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

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Kids Definition

progeny

noun

prog·​e·​ny ˈpräj-(ə-)-nē 

plural progenies

1

: human descendants : children

2

: offspring of animals or plants

Medical Definition

progeny

noun

prog·​e·​ny ˈpräj-(ə-)nē 

plural progenies

: offspring of animals or plants