Meanings
- not comparableBeing the only child of one’s parent (especially one’s father)
- not comparableChristianityOne of the attributes of Jesus Christ, the only-begotten Son of God the Father.
Niceno-Constantinopolitan Creed And [we believe] in one Lord Jesus Christ, the only-begotten Son of God.
Origin
- Ancient Greekμονογενής
- Latinūnigenitus
- Middle Englishoonlybigeten
- Englishonly-begotten
From Middle English oonlybigeten, equivalent to only + begotten. Compare also Middle English only geten, oonly geten (“only-begotten”, literally “only-gotten”) and Middle English onbygoten, oon be-gotyn, one bygeten, oon bigetun, oon bigeten (“only-begotten”, literally “one-begotten”). Calque of Latin ūnigenitus, itself a calque of Ancient Greek μονογενής (monogenḗs).
More words from Middle English, Latin, Ancient Greek
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Ancient Greek μονογενής
- μονογενής (monogenḗs)being the only child of one’s parent
Icelandic eingetinn
- eingetinnbeing the only child of one’s parent
Italian unigenito
- unigenitobeing the only child of one’s parent
Japanese ひとりっこ
- ひとりっこbeing the only child of one’s parent
Latin ūnigenitus
- ūnigenitusbeing the only child of one’s parent
Portuguese unigênito, unigénito
- unigênitobeing the only child of one’s parent
- unigénitobeing the only child of one’s parent
Spanish unigénito, unigénito
- unigénitobeing the only child of one’s parent
- unigénitotheology
Swedish enfödd
- enföddbeing the only child of one’s parent
Cite this entry
only-begotten. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/only-begotten
“only-begotten.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/only-begotten. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “only-begotten,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/only-begotten.
Source: only-begotten on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.