different between happen vs generate

English

Etymology

From Middle English happenen, hapnen, augmented from Middle English happen (“to come to pass, happen”), perhaps from Old English hæppan (“to move accidentally, slip”) and/or from Old Norse *happa, *heppa, from Proto-Germanic *hampijan? (“to fit in, be fitting”). Equivalent to hap (“a chance, occurrence, byfall”) +? -en (verbal suffix).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?hæp?n/
• Rhymes: -æp?n

Verb

happen (third-person singular simple present happens, present participle happening, simple past and past participle happened)

1. (intransitive) To occur or take place.

   Synonyms: come to pass; see also Thesaurus:happen

2. (transitive, archaic) To happen to; to befall.
3. (intransitive or impersonal, with infinitive) To do or occur by chance or unexpectedly.

4. (followed by on or upon) To encounter by chance.
   • 1860, Nathaniel Hawthorne, The Marble Faun, ch. 30:

     Unexpectedly, in a nook close by the farmhouse, he happened upon a spot where the vintage had actually commenced.

Usage notes

• In the sense which indicates a chance occurrence, happen is a catenative verb that takes the to-infinitive. See Appendix:English catenative verbs

Derived terms

Related terms

• happening
• happenstance

Translations

Adverb

happen (not comparable)

1. (obsolete or dialect) maybe, perhaps.

   (The addition of quotations indicative of this usage is being sought:)

Dutch

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /???p?(n)/
• Rhymes: -?p?n

Verb

happen

1. to take a bite

Inflection

Noun

happen

1. Plural form of hap

English

Etymology

From Latin gener?tus, perfect passive participle of gener? (“beget, procreate, produce”), from genus (“a kind, race, family”); see genus.

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /?d??n.?.?e?t/
• (US) IPA^(key): /?d??n.?.e?t/

Verb

generate (third-person singular simple present generates, present participle generating, simple past and past participle generated)

1. (transitive) To bring into being; give rise to.

2. (transitive) To produce as a result of a chemical or physical process.

3. (transitive) To procreate, beget.

4. (transitive, mathematics) To form a figure from a curve or solid.

5. (intransitive) To appear or occur; be generated.
   • 1883, Thomas Hardy, The Three Strangers

     Mrs. Fennel, seeing the steam begin to generate on the countenances of her guests, crossed over and touched the fiddler's elbow and put her hand on the serpent's mouth.

Synonyms

• (to bring into being): create, spawn

Antonyms

• (to bring into being): annihilate, degenerate, extinguish
• (to produce as a result of a chemical or physical process): erase

Derived terms

• regenerate

Related terms

Translations

Further reading

• generate in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.
• generate in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911.

Anagrams

• green tea, renegate, teen-ager, teenager

Italian

Verb

generate

1. second-person plural present of generare
2. second-person plural present subjunctive of generare
3. second-person plural imperative of generare
4. feminine plural past participle of generare

Anagrams

• argentee, reagente

Latin

Participle

gener?te

1. vocative masculine singular of gener?tus