progeny

American  

[proj-uh-nee] / ˈprɒdʒ ə ni /

noun

plural

progeny, progenies

1. a descendant or offspring, as a child, plant, or animal.

2. such descendants or offspring collectively.

3. something that originates or results from something else; outcome; issue.

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progeny British  

/ ˈprɒdʒɪnɪ /

noun

1. the immediate descendant or descendants of a person, animal, etc

2. a result or outcome

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Etymology

Origin of progeny

1250–1300; Middle English progenie < Middle French < Latin prōgeniēs offspring, equivalent to prō- pro- ¹ + gen-, base of gignere to beget (akin to kin ) + -iēs feminine noun suffix

Explanation

Progeny means "offspring" or "children." You and your brothers are the progeny of your parents, and your cat's new litter of kittens is her progeny. Synonyms for progeny include descendants, product, and offspring, so you're also your grandparents' and great-grandparents' progeny. And, if your pet goat has babies every spring, you'll get to raise dozens of her progeny. Plants have progeny too — blow the fluffy seeds of a dandelion in your yard and its progeny can multiply, summer after summer, until your lawn is full of cheerful yellow flowers.

Example Sentences

“It was an odd pairing: Harold Macmillan, the inhibited, repressed publisher’s son, and Bob Boothby, the warm, witty progeny of an Edinburgh banker,” writes Lynne Olson.

From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 23, 2025

Rich men can afford to support lots of progeny they never have to see.

From Salon • Jun. 5, 2025

But there’s an attitude, a worldview and a fundamental set of principles that guide the tech industry and its progeny, like a secular catechism.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 16, 2025

In less time than it takes to say “arachnophobia,” it will escape, reproduce like a bandit and send its deadly progeny scampering into every unsealed nook and cranny.

From New York Times • Apr. 25, 2024

Individual languages age away and seem to die, but they leave progeny all over the place.

From "The Lives of a Cell" by Lewis Thomas