genə- / Indo-European roots

Examples of words with the root genə-: -gen, -genesis, -geny, -gony, agnate, allogeneic, archegonium, benign, carpogonium, cognate, congener, congenital, connate, degenerate, enate, engine, epigene, epigone, gendarme, gender, gene, genealogy, general, generate, generic, generous, genesis, genial, genital, genitive.

genə-

To give birth, beget; with derivatives referring to aspects and results of procreation and to familial and tribal groups.

Oldest form *g̑enh₁-, becoming *genh₁- in centum languages.

▲ Derivatives include kin, king, jaunty, genius, pregnant¹, gingerly, nature.

I. Basic form *genə-.

1. Suffixed form *genə-es-. a. gender, general, generate, generation, generic, generous, genre, genus; congener, degenerate, engender, miscegenation from Latin genus, race, kind; b. gene; allogeneic, genealogy, genocide, genotype, heterogeneous, syngeneic from Greek genos and geneā, race, family; c. -gen, -geny; epigene from Greek suffix -genēs, "-born".

2. Suffixed form *gen(ə)-yo-. a. genial¹, genius; congenial from Latin genius, procreative divinity, inborn tutelary spirit, innate quality; b. engine, ingenious from Latin ingenium, inborn character (in-, in; see en).

3. Suffixed form *genə-ā-. indigen, indigenous from Latin indigena, born in (a place), indigenous (indu-, within; see en)

4. Suffixed form *genə-wo-. genuine, ingenuous from Latin ingenuus, born in (a place), native, natural, freeborn (in-, in; see en)

5. Suffixed form *gen(ə)-men-. germ, german², germane, germinal, germinate from dissimilated Latin germen, shoot, bud, embryo, germ.

II. O-grade form *gonə-, reduced to *gon- in suffixed form *gon-o-.

1. gonad, gono-, -gony; archegonium, carpogonium, epigone from Greek gonos, child, procreation, seed.

2. Harijan from Sanskrit janaḥ, offspring, child, person.

III. Zero-grade form *gn̥ə-.

1. Suffixed form *gn̥ə-yo-. a. kin; kindred from Old English cyn(n), race, family, kin; b. king from Old English cyning, king, from Germanic *kuningaz, king. Both a and b from Germanic *kunjam, family.

2. Suffixed form *gn̥ə-t-. a. kind² from Old English cynd, gecynd(e), origin, birth, race, family, kind, from Germanic *kundjaz, family, race; b. kind¹ from Old English gecynde, natural, native, fitting (ge-, collective prefix; see kom) , from Germanic *kundiz, natural, native; c. suffixed form *gn̥ə-ti-. (i) gens, genteel, gentile, gentle, gentry, jaunty; gendarme from Latin gēns (stem genti-), race, clan; (ii) genesis, -genesis from Greek genesis, birth, beginning; d. kindergarten, Kriss Kringle, wunderkind from Old High German kind, child, from Germanic secondary full-grade variant *kentham; e. suffixed form *gn̥ə-to-. Jataka from Sanskrit jāta-, born (verbal adjective of janate, he is born).

3. Reduplicated form *gi-gn(ə)-. genital, genitive, genitor, geniture, gent¹, gingerly; congenital, primogenitor, primogeniture, progenitor, progeny from Latin gignere (past participle genitus), to beget.

4. Reduced form *gn- in suffixed form *-gn-o-. benign, malign from Latin benignus, good-natured, kindly (bene, well; see deu-²) and malignus, evil-natured, malevolent (male, ill; see mel-³)

5. Zero-grade form *gn̥ə- becoming *gnā-. pregnant¹; impregnate from Latin praegnās, pregnant (prae-, before; see per¹)

6. Suffixed form *gn̥ə-sko- becoming *gnā-sko-. nada, naive, nascent, natal, nation, native, nature, née, Noël; adnate, agnate, cognate, connate, enate, innate, neonate, puisne, puny, renaissance from Latin gnāscī, nāscī (past participle gnātus, nātus), to be born.

7. Reduced form *gn̥- in Sanskrit compound kṛmi-ja- (see k^wr̥mi-)

[Pokorny 1. g̑en- 373.]

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