Etymologically
Log in

genuine

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 16 October 2026 at 03:04. This address is a permanent link to this version.
Changes in this edit History

Pronunciation

  • IPA: /ˈdʒen.ju.ɪn/[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Latin genuīnus (“native, natural, innate”).[2][3][4] Its origin is disputed.[3][2] Barnhart, MWU, Collins and Etymonline derive it from the root of gignere (“to beget”),[2][5][6][3] from Proto-Indo-European *gene- (“to give birth, beget”),[3] perhaps influenced by ingenuus “native, freeborn” and by the contrasting adulterīnus “spurious”.[2][3] Hoad, NODE, the SOED and Word Origins derive it instead from genū (“knee”), from the Roman custom of a father acknowledging a newborn child by placing it on his knee;[4][7][8][9] Barnhart finds no semantic connection with genū that stands up to close examination.[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

Natural, not foreign or acquired: 1596.[10][2] Etymonline has the 1590s.[3]

Semantic evolution

The original sense, natural or proper, is in the privateer Woodes Rogers in 1712: “the Language of the Sea, which is more genuine, and natural for a mariner”;[9][8] it was obsolete by the early 18th century.[8] Really coming from its reputed source, authentic, is from 1661, the 1660s in Etymonline.[10][3] Real, not counterfeit, is from before 1639,[10] and of pure original stock from 1728.[10] Of persons, free from affectation or hypocrisy, sincere, is from 1840.[10]

Timeline

  • 1596 – natural, native.[10]
  • before 1639 – real, not counterfeit.[10]
  • 1661 – authentic.[10]
  • 1728 – pure-bred.[10]
  • 1840 – sincere.[10]

Modern meaning

Adjective

  1. Real and exactly what it appears to be; not fake: genuine leather.
  2. Honestly felt; sincere.
  3. Of a person, honest and open.

Word family

  • genuinely
  • genuineness
  • nongenuine
  • ungenuine
  • genus
  • ingenuous
  • kin

Usage notes

The Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary notes that many British people wrongly believe the usual American pronunciation is /ˈdʒen.ju.aɪn/; that is in fact a minority pronunciation.[1]

References

  1. ^ a b Jones, Daniel (2011), Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary, 18th ed., ed. Peter Roach, Jane Setter and John Esling, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
  2. ^ a b c d e f Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
  3. ^ a b c d e f g Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  4. ^ a b Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  5. ^ Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  6. ^ Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins
  7. ^ Pearsall, Judy, ed. (1998), The New Oxford Dictionary of English, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  8. ^ a b c Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
  9. ^ a b Cresswell, Julia (2021), Oxford Dictionary of Word Origins, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  10. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press