To give life, to bring to life, to preserve alive — from zōos (alive) and ginomai (to become). Carries the sense of actively producing or sustaining life.
This word appears in Luke 17:33 and Acts 7:19, creating a powerful contrast. In Acts, Pharaoh sought to prevent Israel's babies from being 'kept alive' — a genocidal attempt to stop God's plan. In Luke, Jesus teaches that whoever seeks to 'preserve his life will lose it.' Life-preservation becomes a spiritual test: clinging to life apart from God is death, while surrendering life to God is true zōogoneō — the preservation that matters eternally.