Hello, you have come here looking for the meaning of the word
-gnus. In DICTIOUS you will not only get to know all the dictionary meanings for the word
-gnus, but we will also tell you about its etymology, its characteristics and you will know how to say
-gnus in singular and plural. Everything you need to know about the word
-gnus you have here. The definition of the word
-gnus will help you to be more precise and correct when speaking or writing your texts. Knowing the definition of
-gnus, as well as those of other words, enriches your vocabulary and provides you with more and better linguistic resources.
Latin
Etymology
From a combining form *-ǵn(h₁)-os from Proto-Indo-European *ǵenh₁- (“to produce, to beget, to give birth”), whence Latin gignō (“give birth”). Compare -genus, which was reformed from other forms.
Pronunciation
Suffix
-gnus (feminine -gna, neuter -gnum); first/second-declension suffix
- suffix forming adjectives denoting origin. born, originated from
- bene (“well”) + -gnus → benignus (“kind, generous”)
- male (“badly”) + -gnus → malignus (“ungenerous, grudging”)
- bi- (“two-”) + -gnus → bignae (“twins”)
- prīvus + -gnus → prīvignus (“stepson”)
- abiēs (“fir”) + -gnus → abiēgnus (“made of fir wood”)
Declension
First/second-declension adjective.
Derived terms
References
- ^ Nussbaum, Alan J (2017), "The Latin “bonus rule” and benignus ‘generous, kind’" (preprint)
- ^ De Vaan, Michiel (2008) “gignō”, in Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series; 7), Leiden, Boston: Brill, →ISBN, pages 260–261