progeny

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for August 1, 2008 is: progeny • \PRAH-juh-nee\  • noun 1 a : descendants, children b : offspring of animals or plants 2 : outcome, product 3 : a body of followers, disciples, or successors Examples: 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." See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.