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*ǵenh₁-1‘to produce, beget’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ǵénh₁os1‘race, lineage’reconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*genos1reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEgenus1‘birth, origin, descent’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEgenerō1‘to beget’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEgenerātiō1‘a begetting; a generation’
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400generacion2
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500generacioun1‘procreation’
- Englishearliest quotation 1596generation1
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
- 1 Wiktionary, English generation
- 2 Wiktionary, Middle English generacioun
- Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1596, Edmund Spenser, Book IV, Canto X: “So all things else, that nourish vitall blood, /…”.
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ǵenh₁-Wiktionary, English generation‘to produce, beget’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ǵénh₁osWiktionary, English generation‘race, lineage’reconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*genosWiktionary, English generationreconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEgenusWiktionary, English generation‘birth, origin, descent’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEgenerōWiktionary, English generation‘to beget’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEgenerātiōWiktionary, English generation‘a begetting; a generation’
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400generacionWiktionary, Middle English generacioun
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500generaciounWiktionary, English generation‘procreation’
- Englishearliest quotation 1596generationWiktionary, English generation. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 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, nee, ingenious, nascent, nativity, janata, germ, puny, gentile, degenerate, jaunty, gens, cognate, genial, genteel, gingerly, azadi, genitive, nomen, 97 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.
Sources
Sources: Wiktionary, “generation”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Middle English generacioun. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *ǵenh₁- / generation