progeny

/ˈpɹɒd͡ʒəni/

//ˈpɹɒd͡ʒəni// noun

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"progeny" is a 7-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“progeny” has 11 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #29,048. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#29,048
frequency rank, English
4,417
“P” headwords
11
tracked misspellings
1
confusable pair

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Offspring or descendants considered as a group.

Corpus desk

Index EN-progeny · progeny · English

progeny · rank #29,048 · 11 variants · 1 confusable

  • FREQ-MID #29,048
  • LEN-LONG 7 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-LOW 1 pairs
  • VAR-MID 11 variants
  • BOOK-MID 4,417
  • PHOTO-FINISH predictably

Nearest frequency peer: predictably (-1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Frequency neighbourhood for “progeny”

Lower corpus rank = more everyday usage (inverted bar length for readability)

corpus weight

What this shows Bars show where “progeny” sits against the nearest ranked English headwords in the FrequencyWords band, not a reprint of letter-browse containment.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

progeny vs proven
71% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for progeny
PropertyValue
Headwordprogeny
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈpɹɒd͡ʒəni/
Letters7
Frequency rank#29,048
Misspellings tracked11
Confusable pairs1
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “progeny” sits in English frequency

Word frequency stretches from the small set of words we reach for constantly (left) out to the long tail barely used once in a while (right).progeny lands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Ticks step logarithmically, so each one marks a roughly tenfold drop in how often the word turns up. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 11 spelling variants around progeny (IPA /ˈpɹɒd͡ʒəni/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #29,048 among 4,417 “P” headwords. Wiktionary lists 3 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 11 likely wrong-spelling variants for progeny, with forms such as "porgeny", "pprogeny", and "prgoeny". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. It also participates in 1 confusable-pair relationship, "proven", a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English progenie, from Old French progenie, from Latin prōgeniēs, from prōgignō (“beget”). The correct English form is progeny, spelled P-R-O-G-E-N-Y.

Definition

  1. 1
    Offspring or descendants considered as a group.
  2. 2
    Descent, lineage, ancestry.
  3. 3
    A result of a creative effort.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how progeny appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. I treasure this five-generation photograph of my great-great grandmother and her progeny.
  2. I should premise that I use the term Struggle for Existence in a large and metaphorical sense, including dependence of one being on another, and including (which is more important) not only the life of the individual, but success in leaving progeny.

Etymology

From Middle English progenie, from Old French progenie, from Latin prōgeniēs, from prōgignō (“beget”).

Synonyms

binary clonedescendant(s)fruit of one's loinsgetissuelineageoffspring

This word in other languages

descendiente(Español)descendant(Français)Nachkommen(Deutsch)progénie(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • porgeny
  • pprogeny
  • prgoeny
  • proegny
  • progenny
  • progenyy
  • progeyn
  • proggeny
  • progney
  • prrogeny
  • rpogeny

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of progeny - counted as single-character edits (an insertion, a deletion, or a substituted letter). The larger the bar, the easier the typo is to spot; one-edit slips are the ones that sneak past readers.

porgeny2pprogeny1prgoeny2proegny2progenny1progenyy1progeyn2proggeny1
Edit distance from "progeny"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

PlainSpell is rendered directly from structured Wiktionary extracts and open word-frequency lists, no number is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of September 3, 2026. Primary sources: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) and FrequencyWords.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "progeny"?
"progeny" is spelled P-R-O-G-E-N-Y. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈpɹɒd͡ʒəni/.
What does "progeny" mean?
As a noun, "progeny" means: Offspring or descendants considered as a group.
What words are commonly confused with "progeny"?
"progeny" is commonly confused with "proven". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "progeny"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "progeny" is /ˈpɹɒd͡ʒəni/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "progeny"?
From Middle English progenie, from Old French progenie, from Latin prōgeniēs, from prōgignō (“beget”). See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "progeny", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 7 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

portage#29,043Pompeii#29,041plagues#29,039pitting#29,038

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (11 here; floor ≥5).

outbound11 variantsScholes11 variantssilvery11 variantsNanjing11 variants

What to do next

You've looked up "progeny". Here's where to go from here.

  • This headword has one recorded confusable pair with "proven". View pair
  • 11 edit-distance misspelling variants are generated for spell-check research on this headword. See variants
  • Usage frequency rank #29,048 among English headwords in this corpus. Corpus statistics
  • Browse more English words in the "P" letter cohort. P–Z browse
  • PlainSpell rotates a curated Word of the Day from the English corpus, a passive way to discover vocabulary. Word of the Day

PlainSpell is a reference corpus, not spelling advice. Verify unusual forms in context.

Data Source

Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list