Engender

Part of speech: verb

Pronunciation: /ɪnˈdʒɛn.də/

Definitions

1. To cause or bring into existence something such as a feeling, situation, or quality
2. To create or bring about a specific situation, feeling, or quality through influence or action
3. To produce or develop a particular outcome or emotion as a result of certain circumstances or efforts

Etymology: The verb "engender" is built from a simple pair of parts: the prefix "en-", meaning "in" or "into", and "gender", which descends from Latin "genus", meaning "kind" or "birth." Its underlying idea is therefore bringing something into existence, the sense of birth and origin. Latin "ingenerare" meant to beget or produce, and it passed into Middle English through Old French "engendrer." The word's original territory was literal reproduction. To engender was to beget offspring, and the word stayed close to that biological sense for centuries. The grammatical "gender" came along later from the same Latin stock, a link that surprises many readers, since the two words meant "kind" or "type" before they were split apart in English. Modern usage has moved the verb well beyond parenthood. We now say that poverty engenders crime or that suspicion engenders distrust, using it for any outcome that arises from circumstances or effort. The concrete notion of birth has become a metaphor for cause and consequence.

Synonyms: produce, create, generate

Antonyms: destroy, terminate