engender

[Peter Jiong]

[FONT=&quot]Gerald loved her with all his heart, with all his soul; he trembled with desire at her touch and his passion was an agony that blanched his cheek. She could not mistake the eager longing of his eyes. Ah, that was the love she wanted—the love that kills and the love that engenders.

From Mrs. Craddock [/FONT](set in the late 19th century) by W Somerset Maugham

What does "engender" mean?

 

[Charlie Bernstein]

Cause.

(Dictionary!)

 

[GoesStation]

What do you find when you look it up in a dictionary?

 

[Peter Jiong]

Actually, I was wondering what "the love that engenders" mean.

 

[Rover_KE]

In that case, a better thread title would have been 'the love that engenders'.

A single word rarely suffices.

 

[GoesStation]

Actually, I was wondering what "the love that engenders" means.

The kind of love that creates. Maugham doesn't say what it creates, but it's clear that he meant "good feelings/good outcomes".

 

[jutfrank]

In this context, it means 'gives birth'. It's meant as the opposite of kills.