progeny - a podcast by Merriam-Webster

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for June 20, 2021 is: progeny \PRAH-juh-nee\ noun
1 a : [descendants](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/descendants#h2), [children](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/children)

b : offspring of animals or plants

2 : [outcome](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/outcome), [product](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/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.

"The plan … is to release millions of male [Aedes](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/aedes) aegypti mosquitoes that have been genetically modified so that their female progeny can develop only if they are exposed to [tetracycline](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/tetracycline), an antibiotic." — [Gregory E. Kaebnick, The Miami Herald, 11 May 2021](https://www.miamiherald.com/opinion/op-ed/article251334533.html)

Did you know?

Progeny is the progeny of the Latin verb pr?gignere, 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](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/benign) (meaning "mild" or "harmless"), [congenital](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/congenital) (meaning "inherent"), [engine](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/engine), [genius](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/genius), [germ](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/germ), [indigenous](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/indigenous), [ingenuous](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/ingenuous), and [malign](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/malign). Gignere even paired up with pro- again to produce a close relative of progeny: the noun [progenitor](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/progenitor) can mean "an ancestor in the direct line," "a biologically ancestral form," or "a precursor or originator."

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