English
generation
Generation comes from Middle English generacioun ‘Procreation, reproduction’, from Latin generātiō ‘a generation’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *ǵenh₁- ‘to produce’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ǵenh₁-‘to produce, beget’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*ǵénh₁os‘race, lineage’reconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*genosreconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEgenus‘birth, origin, descent’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEgenerō‘to beget’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEgenerātiō‘a begetting; a generation’
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400generacion
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500generacioun‘procreation’
- Englishearliest quotation 1596generation
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ǵenh₁-‘to produce, beget’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*ǵénh₁os‘race, lineage’reconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*genosreconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEgenus‘birth, origin, descent’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEgenerō‘to beget’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEgenerātiō‘a begetting; a generation’
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400generacion
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500generacioun‘procreation’
- Englishearliest quotation 1596generation
Earliest quotation: 1596, Edmund Spenser, Book IV, Canto X: “So all things else, that nourish vitall blood, /…”
Equivalent to generate + -ion
Proto-Indo-European *ǵenh₁- ‘to produce, beget’
Proto-Indo-European *ǵénh₁os ‘race’
Proto-Italic *genos
Latin genus ‘a kind, race, family’
English generate
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *ǵenh₁- ‘to produce’
kind, king, nature, german, pregnant, engine, native, nation, ken, genius, indigenous, genuine, gentle, naive, genetic, kin, noel, genesis, innate, natal, nada, genital, naïve, nee, ingenious, nascent, nativity, janata, germ, puny, gentile, degenerate, jaunty, gens, cognate, genial, genteel, gingerly, azadi, genitive, 101 more
through Proto-Indo-European *ǵénh₁os ‘race, lineage’
oxygen, hydrogen, genocide, genealogy, glycogen, estrogenic, 28 more
through Latin genus ‘species, taxon, race’
genre, genuinely, transgender, genus, generosity, engender, 14 more
through Latin generō ‘to generate, to produce’
Today it means
noun The act of creating something or bringing something into being; production, creation.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *ǵenh₁- / generation