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

As the progeny of Ernie Isley — a key songwriter and multi-instrumentalist of The Isley Brothers, perhaps the most prolific soul group of all time — Alex Isley knows a thing or two about sensuality and intimacy. —Kyle Denis, Billboard, 28 Feb. 2025

But the structures come across as the progeny of one architect’s ego, while the philosophy behind Brutalism remains unexplained. —Michael Allen, The Conversation, 27 Feb. 2025

The flag still lacks any representation of our Illiniwek and Miami heritage, which should be added by their progeny. —Brad Weisenstein, Chicago Tribune, 23 Jan. 2025

The hope, of course, is that the joyous moments outweigh the headaches and that on some lizard-brain level, this early exposure will pay off someday, helping to shape the great people that our progeny will eventually become. —Ashlea Halpern, Condé Nast Traveler, 10 Dec. 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

Rhymes for progeny

• androgyny
• ontogeny
• orogeny
• phylogeny

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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