Etymology 1
From Proto-Italic *genos, from Proto-Indo-European *ǵénh₁os n (“race”), from the root *ǵenh₁- (“to produce, beget”); compare also gēns, gignō and -gnus, from the same root. From the genitive gener-is (< PIE *ǵénh₁es-os), the sound shift -r- < *-s- can be observed, through which the Old Latin form *genes-is can be reconstructed.
Cognates include Ancient Greek γένος (génos, “race, stock, kin, kind”), Sanskrit जनस् (jánas, “race, class of beings”), Proto-Celtic *genos (“birth; family”), and English kin. Doublet of genea.
Noun
genus n (genitive generis); third declension
- birth, origin, lineage, descent
- kind, type, class
27 BCE – 25 BCE,
Titus Livius,
Ab Urbe Condita 26.1:
- huic generi militum senatus eundem, quem Cannensibus, finem statuerat militiae.
- For this class of soldier the senate had established a limit in duration to their military service, which was the same as the men at Cannae.
- species (of animal or plant), race (of people)
c. 37 BCE – 30 BCE,
Virgil,
Georgics III:
- omne adeo genus in terris hominumque ferarumque / et genus aequoreum pecudes pictaeque volucres / in furias ignemque ruunt
- So far does every species on earth of man and beast, / whether the aquatic species, livestock, or painted-winged, / collapse into the frenzies and the fire [of sex].
- set, group (with common attributes)
- (grammar) gender
- 6th century, Magnus Aurelius Cassiodorus (attributed): Commentarium de oratione et de octo partibus orationis. In: „Patrologiae cursus completus sive Bibliotheca universalis, integra, uniformis, commoda, oeconomica, omnium ss. patrum, doctorum scriptorumque ecclesiasticorum qui ab aevo apostolico ad innocentii III tempora floruerunt; […] . Series prima, in qua prodeunt patres, doctores scriptoresque ecclesiae latinae a tertulliano ad gregorium magnum. Accurante J.-P. Migne, cursuum completorum in singulos scientiae ecclesiaticae ramos editore. Patrologiae tomus LXX. Cassiodori tomus posterior. – Magni Aurelii Cassiodori senatoris, viri patricii, consularis, et vivariensis abbatis opera omnia in duos tomos distributa, ad fidem manuscriptiorum codicum emendata et aucta, notis, observationibus et indicibus locupletata, praecedente auctoris vita, quae nunc primum in lucem prodit cum dissertatione de ejus monarchatu. Opera et studio J. Garetii monarchi ordinis sancti Benedicti e congregatione sancti mauri. Nobis autem curantibus accesserunt complexiones in epistolas b. Pauli quas edidit et annotavit scipio Maffeius. Tomus posterior. – Parisiis, venit apud editorem, in via dicta d'amboise, près la barriere d'enfer, ou petit-montrouge. 1847“, p. 1225
Genera nominum sunt sex: masculinum, ut hic Cato; femininum, ut haec musa; neutrum, ut hoc monile; commune duorum generum, ut hic et haec sacerdos: trium generum, ut hic, et haec, et hoc felix; epicoenon, quod Latine promiscuum dicitur, ut passer, aquila.- Nouns have six genders: masculine, e.g. hic Cato 'this man Cato'; feminine, e.g. haec musa 'this muse'; neuter, e.g. hoc monile 'this necklace'; common to two genders, e.g. hic et haec sacerdos 'this priest or priestess'; of three genders, e.g. hic, et haec, et hoc felix 'this lucky man, woman or thing'; epicene, called promiscous in Latin, e.g. passer 'sparrow', aquila 'eagle'.
- 16th century, Andreas Semperius (a.k.a. Andreas Sampere, Andreu Sempere): Andreae Semperii Valentini Alcodiani, doctoris medici, prima grammaticae latinae institutio tribus libris explicata, Majorca/Mallorca, 1819, p.19
Genera nominum, septem sunt. Masculinum, cui praeponitur hic: ut hic Dominus. Foemineum, cui praeponitur haec: ut haec musa. Neutrum, cui praeponuntur hoc: ut hoc templum. Commune, cui praeponuntur hic, & haec: ut hic, & haec Sacerdos. Omne, cui praeponuntur hic, haec, hoc, vel per tres varias voces inflectitur: ut hic, haec, hoc felix, bonus, bona, bonum. Dubium, quod modo masculinum, modo faemineum, apud Oratores etiam invenitur: ut hic, vel haec dies. Promiscuum, in quo sexus uterque per alterum apparet: ut hic passer, haec aquila, hic lepus.- Nouns have seven genders. Masculine, which you can precede with hic: hic dominus 'this Lord'. Feminine, which you can precede with haec, e.g. haec musa 'this muse'. Neuter, which you can precede with hoc, e.g. hoc templum 'this temple'. Common, which you can precede with hic and haec: hic & haec sacerdos 'this male or female priest'. Universal, which you can precede with all three of hic, haec, hoc, or which vary in three forms, e.g. hic, haec, hoc felix 'this lucky man, woman, thing', hic bonus, haec bona, hoc bonum 'this good man, good woman, good thing'. Doubtful, which in the orators can be found to be sometimes masculine, sometimes feminine, e.g. hic, vel haec dies 'this day'. Promiscuous, in which a gender appears instead of another, e.g. hic passer 'this sparrow' (always masculine), haec aquila 'this eagle' (always feminine), hic lepus 'this rabbit' (always masculine).
- (grammar) subtype of word
Aelius Donatus,
Ars Minor De Verbo:
- Genera verborum quot sunt? Quinque. Quae? Activa passiva neutra deponentia communia.
- How many types of verbs are there? Five. Which ones? Active, passive, neuter, deponent, common.
Maurus Servius Honoratus,
Commentarius in Artem Donati :
- Verborum genera quinque sunt, activa passiva neutra communia deponentia.
- There are five types of verbs: active, passive, neuter, common, deponent.
Declension
Third-declension noun (neuter, imparisyllabic non-i-stem).
More information singular, plural ...
Close
Hyponyms
- (grammar, genera nominum): [genus] fēminīnum, [genus] masculīnum, [genus] neutrum, genus commūne, genus omne
- (grammar, genera verborum): [genus] āctīvum, [genus] passīvum, [genus] neutrum, [genus] commūne, [genus] dēpōnēns, [genus] medium
Descendants
- Catalan: gens
- Franco-Provençal: gins
- Old French: giens
Unsorted borrowings:
Etymology 2
See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.
References
- “genus”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
- “genus”, in Charlton T. Lewis (1891) An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
- genus 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)
- Carl Meißner, Henry William Auden (1894) Latin Phrase-Book, London: Macmillan and Co.
- an Englishman by birth: natione, genere Anglus
- the position of the lower classes: condicio ac fortuna hominum infimi generis
- from this point of view; similarly: quo in genere
- from every point of view; looked at in every light: omni ex parte; in omni genere; omnibus rebus
- to be engaged in any branch of study: in aliquo litterarum genere versari
- the species is subordinate the genus: partes generibus subiectae sunt
- to differ qualitatively not quantitatively: genere, non numero or magnitudine differre
- this word is neuter: hoc vocabulum generis neutri (not neutrius) est)
- to be of noble family: generis antiquitate florere
- of illustrious family: nobili, honesto, illustri loco or genere natus
- people of every rank: homines omnis generis
- the aristocracy (as a social class): nobiles; nobilitas; qui nobilitate generis excellunt
- (ambiguous) the male, female sex: sexus (not genus) virilis, muliebris
- (ambiguous) to choose a career, profession: genus vitae (vivendi) or aetatis degendae deligere
- (ambiguous) to analyse a general division into its specific parts: genus universum in species certas partiri et dividere (Or. 33. 117)
- (ambiguous) to transplant to Rome one of the branches of poesy: poesis genus ad Romanos transferre
- (ambiguous) style: genus dicendi (scribendi); oratio
- (ambiguous) elevated, moderate, plain style: genus dicendi grave or grande, medium, tenue (cf. Or. 5. 20; 6. 21)
- (ambiguous) a running style: fusum orationis genus
- (ambiguous) a rough, unpolished style: inconditum dicendi genus (Brut. 69. 242)
- (ambiguous) a bombastic style: inflatum orationis genus
- (ambiguous) to adopt the language of everyday life: accedere ad cotidiani sermonis genus