English
generate
Generate comes from Latin genus ‘a kind, race, family’, and goes back to Proto-Indo-European *ǵenh₁- ‘to produce, beget’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ǵenh₁-‘to produce, beget’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*ǵénh₁os‘race’reconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*genosreconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEgenus‘a kind, race, family’
- Englishearliest quotation 1883generate
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ǵenh₁-‘to produce, beget’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*ǵénh₁os‘race’reconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*genosreconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEgenus‘a kind, race, family’
- Englishearliest quotation 1883generate
Earliest quotation: 1883, Thomas Hardy: “Mrs. Fennel, seeing the steam begin to generate on…”
Formed from generō ‘beget, procreate, produce’ + -ate
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *ǵenh₁- ‘to produce, beget’
kind, king, nature, nation, pregnant, german, native, engine, ken, genius, indigenous, genuine, genetic, gentle, naive, kin, noel, genesis, natal, nada, genital, innate, naïve, ingenious, nativity, nee, nascent, puny, janata, germ, gentile, jaunty, gens, genial, degeneration, cognate, azadi, gingerly, genitive, genteel, 102 more
through Proto-Indo-European *ǵénh₁os ‘race’
oxygen, hydrogen, genocide, genealogy, glycogen, estrogenic, 28 more
through Proto-Italic *genos
transgender, engender, 14 more
through Latin genus ‘a kind, race, family’
Today it means
verb To bring into being; give rise to.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *ǵenh₁- / generate