English
genocide
Genocide comes from Ancient Greek γένος ‘race, kind’, and goes back to Proto-Indo-European *ǵenh₁- ‘to produce’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ǵenh₁-‘to produce’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*ǵénh₁os‘race, lineage’reconstructed
- Proto-Hellenicc. 2200–1600 BCE*génos‘race’reconstructed
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEγένοςgénos‘race, kind’
- Englishearliest quotation 1944genocide
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ǵenh₁-‘to produce’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*ǵénh₁os‘race, lineage’reconstructed
- Proto-Hellenicc. 2200–1600 BCE*génos‘race’reconstructed
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEγένοςgénos‘race, kind’
- Englishearliest quotation 1944genocide
Earliest quotation: 1944, Analysis of Government - Proposals for Redress: “For the German occupying authorities war thus appears to…”
The story
Coined by Polish Jewish lawyer Raphael Lemkin in 1943 or 1944 in reference to the Armenian Genocide (then known by other names; for more information, see Terminology of the Armenian genocide on Wikipedia), massacres of Assyrians (such as the Simele massacre and Seyfo) and the Jewish Holocaust.
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *ǵenh₁- ‘to produce’
kind, king, nature, nation, german, native, engine, pregnant, genuine, genetic, ken, genius, generate, generous, gentle, naive, generic, indigenous, kin, transgender, genesis, innate, natal, noel, regeneration, generosity, nee, nativity, nada, genital, naïve, genealogy, ingenious, janata, germ, nascent, puny, degeneration, gentile, cognate, 103 more
through Proto-Indo-European *ǵénh₁os ‘race, lineage’
general, generation, gender, gene, genuinely, genre, genus, 29 more
through Proto-Hellenic *génos ‘race’
through Ancient Greek γένος ‘race, kind’
Today it means
noun The systematic and deliberate destruction of a group of people; typically by killing substantial numbers of them, on the basis of their ethnicity, religion, nationality, or similar grounds.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *ǵenh₁- / genocide