English
genus
Genus comes from Latin genus ‘birth, origin, a race, sort, 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-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*genosreconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEgenus‘birth, origin, a race, sort, kind’
- Englishearliest quotation 1945genus
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-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*genosreconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEgenus‘birth, origin, a race, sort, kind’
- Englishearliest quotation 1945genus
Earliest quotation: 1945, Bertrand Russell, A History of Western Philosophy: “Recollection is one of a whole genus of effects…”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *ǵenh₁- ‘to produce’
kind, king, nature, nation, native, german, engine, pregnant, genetic, ken, naive, genuine, kin, gentle, noel, indigenous, genius, innate, natal, genesis, nee, nativity, nada, naïve, janata, genital, degenerate, genealogy, germ, nascent, degeneration, puny, regenerate, ingenious, cognate, gentile, jaunty, gingerly, azadi, gens, 96 more
through Proto-Indo-European *ǵénh₁os ‘race, lineage’
oxygen, gene, hydrogen, genocide, glycogen, estrogenic, 22 more
through Proto-Italic *genos
transgender, regeneration, engender, 8 more
through Latin genus ‘birth, origin, a race, sort, kind’
general, generation, gender, generate, generic, genre, generous, genuinely, generosity, generative, 12 more
Today it means
noun A category in the classification of organisms, ranking below family (Lat. familia) and above species.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *ǵenh₁- / genus