Root of the Week: GEN (Wednesday)

WEDNESDAY    Generate/Regenerate/Degenerate (verb)

To generate is to produce something. A generator is a machine that can use mechanical energy to produce electricity.  When we add the prefix “re” (meaning again) to generate, we get regenerate, which means to re-grow something. When an octopus loses one of its arms, it can regenerate its limb, growing a replacement part. If we add the prefix “de,” meaning “off” or “away from,” to generate, we get a less happy result: to degenerate is to decline, to sink to a corrupted or diseased state. A disappointed movie reviewer might claim that an initially promising film degenerated into a trite, incoherent mess.  The word degenerate is also used as a pejorative noun: if you call someone a degenerate, you are implying something dark about that person’s character.