English
generation
Pronunciation
  • (GA, RP) IPA: /ˌd͡ʒɛnəˈɹeɪʃən/
Noun

generation

  1. The fact of creating something, or bringing something into being; production, creation. [from 14th c.]
    • 1832, Charles Lyell, Principles of Geology, II:
      The generation of peat, when not completely under water, is confined to moist situations.
  2. The act of creating a living creature or organism; procreation. [from 14th c.]
    • 1596, Edmund Spenser, The Faerie Queene, IV.10:
      So all things else, that nourish vitall blood, / Soone as with fury thou doest them inspire, / In generation seek to quench their inward fire.
    • 1626, Francis Bacon, Sylva Sylvarum:
      Generation by Copulation (certainly) extendeth not to Plants.
    • 1658, Thomas Browne, “The Garden of Cyrus. […]. Chapter V.”, in Hydriotaphia, Urne-buriall, […] Together with The Garden of Cyrus, […], London: Printed for Hen[ry] Brome […], OCLC 48702491 ↗; reprinted as Hydriotaphia (The English Replicas), New York, N.Y.: Payson & Clarke Ltd., 1927, OCLC 78413388 ↗, [https://archive.org/stream/hydriotaphiaurne00browuoft#page/
      /mode/1up page 192]:
      According to that Cabaliſticall Dogma: If Abram had not had this Letter [i.e., {{m
  • (now US regional) Race, family; breed. [from 14th c.]
    • c. 1605, William Shakespeare, Timon of Athens, First Folio 1623, I.3:
      Thy Mothers of my generation: what's she, if I be a Dogge?
  • A single step or stage in the succession of natural descent; a rank or degree in genealogy, the members of a family from the same parents, considered as a single unit. [from 14th c.]
    This is the book of the generations of Adam - Genesis 5:1
    Ye shall remain there [in Babylon] many years, and for a long season, namely, seven generations - Baruch 6:3
    All generations and ages of the Christian church - Richard Hooker
  • (obsolete) Descendants, progeny; offspring. [15th-19th c.]
  • The average amount of time needed for children to grow up and have children of their own, generally considered to be a period of around thirty years, used as a measure of time. [from 17th c.]
  • A set stage in the development of computing or of a specific technology. [from 20th c.]
    • 2009, Paul Deital, Harvey Deital and Abbey Deital, iPhone for Programmers:
      The first-generation iPhone was released in June 2007 and was an instant blockbuster success.
  • (geometry) The formation or production of any geometrical magnitude, as a line, a surface, a solid, by the motion, in accordance with a mathematical law, of a point or a magnitude, by the motion of a point, of a surface by a line, a sphere by a semicircle, etc.
    the generation of a line or curve
  • A specific age range whose members can relate culturally to one another.
    Generation X grew up in the eighties, whereas the generation known as the millennials grew up in the nineties.
  • A version of a form of pop culture which differs from later or earlier versions.
    People sometimes dispute which generation of Star Trek is best, including the original and The Next Generation.
  • (television) A copy of a recording made from an earlier copy and thus further degraded in quality.
    • 2014, K. G. Jackson, ‎G. B. Townsend, TV & Video Engineer's Reference Book
      With one-inch C format or half-inch Betacam used in the component mode, quality loss through additional generations is not such a problem. In this situation, it would be usual to make the necessary alterations while re-recording onto a third generation master […]
    • 2002, Keith Jack, ‎Vladimir Tsatsoulin, Dictionary of Video and Television Technology (page 131)
      Each generation away from the original or master produces increased degradation in the image quality.
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