genesis

English

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin genesis (“generation, nativity”), from Ancient Greek γένεσις (génesis, “origin, source, beginning”). Related to Ancient Greek γίγνομαι (gígnomai, “to be produced, become, be”). Doublet of kind, gens, and jati.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈd͡ʒɛn.ə.sɪs/
• (pin–pen merger) IPA^(key): /ˈd͡ʒɪn.ə.sɪs/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɛnəsɪs
• Hyphenation: ge‧ne‧sis

Noun

genesis (plural geneses)

1. The origin, start, or point at which something comes into being.

   Some point to the creation of Magna Carta as the genesis of English common law.

   • 1980, Helmut Brinker, Eberhard Fischer, Treasures from the Rietberg Museum‎, →ISBN, →LCCN, →OCLC, →OL, page 91:

     The genesis of the Chinese bronze mirror can be traced far back into the Chou dynasty. Some pieces that may possibly date from the eighth century B.C., but certainly predate the year 655 B.C., were unearthed in 1956-1957 at Shang-ts’ung-ling near San-men-hsia in western Honan Province.

Derived terms

• soil genesis

Translations

Further reading

• “genesis”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.
• “genesis”, in The Century Dictionary , New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911, →OCLC.

Anagrams

• Geisens, Giesens, seeings, signees

Latin

Etymology

Borrowed from Ancient Greek γένεσις (génesis, “origin, source, beginning, nativity, generation, production, creation”)

Noun

genesis f (genitive genesis or geneseōs or genesios); third declension

1. generation, creation, nativity
2. birth

Declension

Third-declension noun (Greek-type, i-stem, i-stem).

¹Found sometimes in Medieval and New Latin.

Descendants

All borrowed.

• → Catalan: gènesi (learned)
• → Dutch: genese (learned)
  • → Indonesian: genesa
• → English: genesis (learned)
• → French: genèse (semi-learned)
• → Italian: genesi (learned)
• → Spanish: génesis (learned)
• → Norwegian Bokmål: genesis, genese (learned)
• → Norwegian Nynorsk: genesis, genese (learned)
• → Polish: geneza (learned)
• → Turkish: genez (learned)

Norwegian Nynorsk

Etymology

From Ancient Greek γένεσις (génesis, “origin, creation, beginning”), from Proto-Indo-European *ǵénh₁tis (“birth, production”), from *ǵenh₁-.

Noun

genesis m (definite singular genesisen, indefinite plural genesisar, definite plural genesisane)

1. creation, genesis, origin

References

• “genesis” in The Nynorsk Dictionary.