genius
/ˈdʒiːniəs/
noun
Origin
Latin
genere — to beget, produce
Overview
Meaning Now
- Exceptional intellectual or creative power or other natural ability.
- A person of exceptionally high intelligence or creative ability.
- In classical mythology, the tutelary spirit or divinity of a person, place, or institution.
Literal older meaning
generative power or spirit
Language path
Proto-Indo-European → Latin → English
Earliest form
genius
Earliest period
16th century
Journey
Originally, in Roman belief, the 'genius' was a guardian spirit associated with the identity and life force of an individual from birth. The transition to the modern English sense of 'exceptional intellectual ability' occurred primarily in the 18th century, influenced by the Latin 'ingenium' (innate talent), which became conflated with the religious 'genius'.
Evolution
- Proto-Indo-European
*ǵenh₁-
“to produce, beget”
Root for birth, kin, and generation.
- Latin
genius
“tutelary spirit”
A spirit associated with a person's generative power at birth.
- Late Latin
genius
“natural ability, talent”
Semantic extension from the spirit to the talent endowed by said spirit.
- 16th century English
genius
“distinctive character or spirit”
Used initially to refer to the spirit of a place or an individual's character.
Connections
Word parts
gen-
root
to produce, beget
-ius
suffix
forming masculine nouns from verbs
Related across languages
French
génie
genius or genie
Italian
genio
genius
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Related to genius
External references use DefinedTerm semantics.