generate English · revision 6417

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=1509|origins=la genus}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ˈd͡ʒɛn.ə.ɹeɪt/ ''(UK)''; /ˈd͡ʒɛn.ə.ɹeɪt/, /ˈd͡ʒɛn.ɚ.eɪt/ ''(US)''^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[bor|la|generātus]], the past participle of [[m|la|genero|alt=generāre|t=to beget, produce]],^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986)^(MWU 2024) from [[m|la|genus|t=race, kind, birth]] (genitive generis),^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986) from PIE [[ine-pro|*ǵenh₁-|alt=*gene-|t=to give birth, beget]];^(Etymonline) Etymonline allows a back-formation from [[generation]].^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ To beget offspring: 1509 in the OED and MWU, about 1500 in Etymonline; this sense is obsolete.^(OED 1989)^(MWU 2024)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Of natural agencies, to bring into existence or produce, it is from 1563, the 1560s in Etymonline.^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline) To produce steam, heat, electricity or force is from 1791.^(OED 1989) In mathematics, a line is generated by a moving point, and in linguistics a grammar generates sentences.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023) [[generator|alt=Generator]], a begetter in the 17th century, came to mean an apparatus for producing power in the 18th.^(Hoad 1986)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1509 – to beget (obsolete).^(OED 1989)

+ * 1563 – to produce.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1791 – to produce heat or power.^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Verb===

+ # To produce or create: ''generate income''.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # To produce [[energy]], especially [[electricity]].^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # ''(mathematics)'' To trace out a line or figure by moving a point or line.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[generator]]

+ * [[pregenerate]]

+ * [[regenerate]]

+ * [[self-generating]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[generable]]

+ * [[general]]

+ * [[generation]]

+ * [[generative]]

+ * [[generic]]

+ * [[genus]]

+ * [[gender]]

+ * [[generous]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}