genius
See also: génius and Genius
English
Etymology
From Latin genius (“inborn nature; a tutelary deity of a person or place; wit, brilliance”), from gignō (“to beget, produce”), Old Latin genō, from the Proto-Indo-European root *ǵenh₁-. Doublet of genio. See also genus.
Pronunciation
- (General American) IPA(key): /ˈd͡ʒin.jəs/, /ˈd͡ʒi.ni.əs/
- (Received Pronunciation) IPA(key): /ˈdʒiː.nɪəs/
Audio (US) (file) - Rhymes: -iːniəs
Noun
genius (plural geniuses or genii)
- Someone possessing extraordinary intelligence or skill; especially somebody who has demonstrated this by a creative or original work in science, music, art etc.
- Synonyms: see Thesaurus:genius
- Antonym: idiot
- Coordinate term: idiot savant
- Extraordinary mental capacity.
- 1897 December (indicated as 1898), Winston Churchill, chapter I, in The Celebrity: An Episode, New York, N.Y.: The Macmillan Company; London: Macmillan & Co., Ltd., OCLC 222716698:
- In the old days, to my commonplace and unobserving mind, he gave no evidences of genius whatsoever. He never read me any of his manuscripts, […], and therefore my lack of detection of his promise may in some degree be pardoned.
- Inspiration, a mental leap, an extraordinary creative process.
- a work of genius
- to add a dash of cinnamon amid such umami was pure genius
- (Roman mythology, also figuratively) The tutelary deity or spirit of a place or person.
- and the genius of the place: the growing enthusiasm for codified standards in the Army and Navy
- 1646 (indicated as 1645), John Milton, “the unseen genius of the wood”, in Poems of Mr. John Milton, […], London: […] Ruth Raworth for Humphrey Mosely, […], OCLC 606951673:
- 1715, Edward Burnett Tylor, Primitive Culture
- We talk of genius still, but with thought how changed! The genius of Augustus was a tutelary demon, to be sworn by and to receive offerings on an altar as a deity.
- 1866, Frederick F. Wyman, From Calcutta to the Snowy Range (page 330)
- An old sinner, in shape of a khansamah, is the genius of the place, and has rarely aught else to tempt the tired traveller with than a “sudden death”—a fowl caught running in the yard, and dished up forthwith; […]
- Synonyms: tutelary deity; see also Thesaurus:spirit
Derived terms
- bonus genius
- dumb genius
- evil genius
- genius familiae
- genius hominis
- genius loci
- genius locorum
- malus genius
- stroke of genius
Related terms
English terms derived from the Proto-Indo-European root *ǵenh₁- (0 c, 103 e)
Translations
someone possessing extraordinary intelligence or skill
|
extraordinary mental capacity
|
inspiration, mental leap, extraordinary creative process
|
tutelary deity — see tutelary deity
Adjective
genius (not comparable)
- (informal) Ingenious, brilliant, very clever, or original.
- What a genius idea!
- 2012 May 20, Nathan Rabin, “TV: Review: THE SIMPSONS (CLASSIC): “Marge Gets A Job” (season 4, episode 7; originally aired 11/05/1992)”, in The Onion AV Club:
- We all know how genius “Kamp Krusty,” “A Streetcar Named Marge,” “Homer The Heretic,” “Itchy & Scratchy: The Movie” and “Mr. Plow” are, but even the relatively unheralded episodes offer wall-to-wall laughs and some of the smartest, darkest, and weirdest gags ever Trojan-horsed into a network cartoon with a massive family audience.
Translations
very clever
|
Further reading
- genius in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913
- genius in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911
- "genius" in Raymond Williams, Keywords (revised), 1983, Fontana Press, page 143.
Anagrams
- Seguin
Indonesian
Alternative forms
- jenius (nonstandard)
Etymology
Learned borrowing from Latin genius (“inborn nature; a tutelary deity of a person or place; wit, brilliance”), from gignō (“to beget, produce”), Old Latin genō, from the Proto-Indo-European root *ǵenh₁-. Doublet of enjin, insinyur, and zeni.
Pronunciation
- (standard) IPA(key): [ɡeˈniʊs]
- (common) IPA(key): [dʒeˈniʊs]
- Hyphenation: gé‧ni‧us
Adjective
genius
- genius: ingenious, brilliant, very clever, or original.
Affixed terms
- kegeniusan
Further reading
- “genius” in Kamus Besar Bahasa Indonesia, Jakarta: Language Development and Fostering Agency — Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology of the Republic Indonesia, 2016.
Latin
Etymology
Ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *ǵenh₁- (“to beget”), perhaps through Old Latin genō (“to beget, give birth; to produce, cause”), + *-yos; compare Proto-Germanic *kunją (“kin”) and Sanskrit जन्य n (jánya, “lineage, tribe, people”), though all probably independent formations. Comparisons with Aramaic ܓܢܝܐ (ginnaya, “tutelary deity”), and with Arabic Arabic جِنِّي (jinnī, “jinn, spirit, demon”) and جَنِين (janīn, “embryo, germ”), suggest the effects of an older substrate word.
Pronunciation
- (Classical) IPA(key): /ˈɡe.ni.us/, [ˈɡɛniʊs̠]
- (Ecclesiastical) IPA(key): /ˈd͡ʒe.ni.us/, [ˈd͡ʒɛːnius]
Noun
genius m (genitive geniī or genī); second declension
- the deity or guardian spirit of a person, place, etc.; a daemon, a daimon (cf. Ancient Greek δαίμων (daímōn))
- an inborn nature or innate character, especially (though not exclusively) as endowed by a personal (especially tutelar) spirit or deity.
- (with respect to the enjoyment of life) the spirit of social enjoyment, fondness for good living, taste, appetite, inclinations
- (of the intellect) wit, talents, genius (rare)
Declension
Second-declension noun.
| Case | Singular | Plural |
|---|---|---|
| Nominative | genius | geniī |
| Genitive | geniī genī1 | geniōrum |
| Dative | geniō | geniīs |
| Accusative | genium | geniōs |
| Ablative | geniō | geniīs |
| Vocative | genī | geniī |
1Found in older Latin (until the Augustan Age).
Quotations
- Catullus[,] Tibullus and Pervigilium Veneris, 1921, page 328f. containing Albius Tibullus III, XI, 9f. = IV, V, 9f. with a translation into English by J. P. Postgate:
- magne Geni, cape tura libens votisque faveto,
si modo, cum de me cogitat, ille calet.- Great Genius, take this incense with a will, and smile upon my prayer, if only when he thinks on me his pulse beats high.
- magne Geni, cape tura libens votisque faveto,
Descendants
- Catalan: geni, giny
- Dutch: genie
- English: genius, genie
- French: génie
- German: Genie, Genius
- Italian: genio
- → Portuguese: génio, gênio
- Romanian: geniu
- Serbo-Croatian: genij
- Spanish: genio
References
- “genius”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
- “genius”, in Charlton T. Lewis (1891) An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
- genius in Charles du Fresne du Cange’s Glossarium Mediæ et Infimæ Latinitatis (augmented edition with additions by D. P. Carpenterius, Adelungius and others, edited by Léopold Favre, 1883–1887)
- genius in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette
- “genius”, in Harry Thurston Peck, editor (1898) Harper's Dictionary of Classical Antiquities, New York: Harper & Brothers
- “genius”, in William Smith, editor (1848) A Dictionary of Greek Biography and Mythology, London: John Murray
- “genius”, in William Smith et al., editor (1890) A Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities, London: William Wayte. G. E. Marindin
Norwegian Bokmål
Etymology
From Latin genius. Doublet of geni.
Noun
genius m (definite singular geniusen, indefinite plural genier, definite plural geniene)
- genius
References
- “genius” in The Bokmål Dictionary.
- “genius” in Det Norske Akademis ordbok (NAOB).
Norwegian Nynorsk
Etymology
From Latin genius. Doublet of geni.
Noun
genius m (definite singular geniusen, indefinite plural geniusar, definite plural geniusane)
- genius
References
- “genius” in The Nynorsk Dictionary.