What does progeny mean?
Word: Progeny
Part of Speech: Noun
Meaning: Progeny means the children or young of a person, an animal or a plant.
Synonyms: offspring, descendants
Antonyms: ancestors
Word origin: Comes from Old French progenie, from Latin progenies 'descendants', from progignere 'to beget'.
How do you spell progeny?
Syllables: prog - e - ny
Tricky part: The 'j' sound is spelt with a g, not a j, which is why projeny is such a common slip.
Watch out for: projeny, prodgeny
Memory tip: Parents pass their genes on to their progeny, and both words use a soft g where you hear 'j'.
Progeny in a sentence
Example 1: The cat sat proudly beside her progeny, five kittens with white socks.
Example 2: Scientists studied the frogs and their progeny for three summers.
Example 3: Dadaji jokes that his progeny, all eleven grandchildren, eat every laddoo in the house.
Fun Fact
Progenitor, the word for an ancestor who starts a family line, comes from the same Latin verb as progeny, so the two words name opposite ends of a family tree.
Practise the CREST Way
Spellacadabra
Choose the correct option to make a meaningful word:
proge___
a) ny
b) ni
c) nie
d) ney
Show answer
a) ny. The word finishes like colony and harmony.
Spell Spies
Choose the incorrectly spelt word:
a) botany
b) ceremony
c) progenny
d) litany
Show answer
c) progenny. Progeny keeps a single n, just as genes does.
Back to the Roots
Choose the correct option:
This comes from Latin and it means 'the children or young of a person, animal or plant'.
a) agenda
b) memento
c) census
d) progeny
Show answer
d) progeny. Latin progenies meant descendants, and English kept both the word and the meaning.
Word Tally
How many words are misspelt in the given sentence?
The mango tree in Nani's courtyard is very old, but its progeny now grow in nearly every garden on our street, thanks to the seedlings she gives away each Febuary.
a) 1
b) 2
c) 0
d) 3
Show answer
a) 1. Only February is wrong: it needs the r after Feb.
Multiple Choice Questions
1. Which pair shows a parent and its progeny?
a) a pond and its lilies
b) a farmer and his field
c) a nest and a twig
d) a hen and her chicks
Show answer
d) a hen and her chicks
2. Progeny is a formal word. In everyday talk, a parent would more likely say ___.
a) my cousins
b) my elders
c) my children
d) my teachers
Show answer
c) my children
