Generate

[jen-uh-reyt] /ˈdʒɛn əˌreɪt/

verb (used with object), generated, generating.
1.
to bring into existence; cause to be; produce.
2.
to create by a vital or natural process.
3.
to create and distribute vitally and profusely:
He generates ideas that we all should consider. A good diplomat generates good will.
4.
to reproduce; procreate.
5.
to produce by a chemical process.
6.
Mathematics.

7.
Linguistics. to produce or specify (a grammatical sentence or other construction or set of constructions) by the application of a rule or set of rules in a generative grammar.
verb (used without object), generated, generating.
8.
to reproduce; propagate.
/ˈdʒɛnəˌreɪt/
verb (mainly transitive)
1.
to produce or bring into being; create
2.
(also intransitive) to produce (electricity), esp in a power station
3.
to produce (a substance) by a chemical process
4.
(maths, linguistics) to provide a precise criterion or specification for membership in (a set): these rules will generate all the noun phrases in English
5.
(geometry) to trace or form by moving a point, line, or plane in a specific way: circular motion of a line generates a cylinder
v.

c.1500, “to beget” (offspring), a back-formation from generation or else from Latin generatus, past participle of generare “to beget, produce” (see generation); originally “to beget;” in reference to natural forces, conditions, substances, etc., attested from 1560s. Related: Generated; generating.

To produce something according to an algorithm or program or set of rules, or as a (possibly unintended) side effect of the execution of an algorithm or program.
The opposite of parse.
[Jargon File]
(1995-06-15)