Procreating

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. The process of generating new individuals through reproductive methods
2. The act of creating new life forms as a means of species survival
3. The act of generating young by biological means to continue a species

Etymology: The verb "procreate" was first recorded in 1525, but its roots go back to the Latin verb "procreare," meaning "to beget." The adjective came first, appearing in Middle English in the first part of the 15th century as "procreat," used to mean "begotten" or "procreated." English then borrowed the Latin participle directly, so the adjective was formed on the past participle "prōcreātus" before the verb arrived to describe the act itself. The word is built from "pro-," meaning "forth" or "forward," and "create," which in Latin meant to bring something into being or produce it. Joined together, the parts describe bringing something forth into the world, and "procreating" carries that sense into the specific business of producing offspring. Early English writers used the adjective for a long time before the verb, which is why the older participial form survived into Early Modern English.

Synonyms: reproducing, breeding, generating

Antonyms: sterilizing, preventing