generare

Generare is an Italian verb meaning to generate, to produce, or to beget. It covers a range of meanings from natural reproduction to the creation of objects, results, or data. In biology it can refer to the production of offspring; in everyday usage it can mean to create or cause something to come into existence; in computing it denotes producing data, numbers, or content programmatically.

Etymology and related terms: Generare comes from Latin generare, from genus meaning birth, race, or kind. Related nouns include generazione (generation), generatore (generator), and generativo (generative). In other Romance languages there are cognates such as generar in Spanish and générer in French.

Conjugation and examples: As a regular -are verb, generare follows standard endings. Present indicative: io genero, tu generi, lui genera, noi generiamo, voi generate, loro generano. Other tenses are formed regularly as well. Examples: L'azienda vuole generare profitto. La centrale genera energia. Il programma genera una password casuale.

In computing and data processing, generare is used to describe the production of sequences, random numbers, or other outputs by an algorithm or system. See also generation, generator, and generative.