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/jen'euh ray"sheuhn/, n.1. the entire body of individuals born and living at about the same time: the postwar generation.2. the term of years, roughly 30 among human beings, accepted as the average period between the birth of parents and the birth of their offspring.3. a group of individuals, most of whom are the same approximate age, having similar ideas, problems, attitudes, etc. Cf. Beat Generation, Lost Generation.4. a group of individuals belonging to a specific category at the same time: Chaplin belonged to the generation of silent-screen stars.5. a single step in natural descent, as of human beings, animals, or plants.6. a form, type, class, etc., of objects existing at the same time and having many similarities or developed from a common model or ancestor: a new generation of computers.7. the offspring of a certain parent or couple, considered as a step in natural descent.8. the act or process of generating; procreation.9. the state of being generated.10. production by natural or artificial processes; evolution, as of heat or sound.11. Biol.a. one complete life cycle.b. one of the alternate phases that complete a life cycle having more than one phase: the gametophyte generation.12. Math. the production of a geometrical figure by the motion of another figure.13. Physics. one of the successive sets of nuclei produced in a chain reaction.14. (in duplicating processes, as photocopying, film, etc.) the distance in duplicating steps that a copy is from the original work.[1250-1300; ME generacioun < MF < L generation- (s. of generatio). See GENERATE, -ION]
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Universalium. 2010.