Etymologically
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génial

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Pronunciation

  • IPA: /ʒe.njal/[1]

Forms

génial (feminine géniale, masculine plural géniaux, feminine plural géniales)[1]

Etymology

It was first borrowed from Latin geniālis (“of birth; nuptial; festive; fruitful”), from genius (“tutelary spirit”), in the sense “pleasant, voluptuous” (1509).[2][3][4][5] Its modern sense is a new derivation from French génie + -al, from “génie” “exceptional ability” (1837).[2][3][4][6][7] Littré only knew the Latin sense, which English genial kept.[8]

Earliest recorded meaning

Jean Lemaire de Belges's Illustrations de Gaule (1509) uses it for “pleasant, voluptuous”, Palsgrave (1530) has it for “in keeping with a person's nature”.[2][3][5]

Semantic evolution

Barbey d'Aurevilly (1837) gave it its modern sense, “bearing the mark of genius”: c'est surtout la pose qui est géniale, Maupassant (1888) applies it to a person who has genius.[2][3] In the 20th century it weakened to “ingenious”, and, from about 1980 schoolchildren used it as a vague term of praise, like super.[3][9] The adverb génialement is found in 1613 but was rare before 1869.[3]

Timeline

  • 1509 – “Pleasant, voluptuous”, Jean Lemaire de Belges.[2]
  • 1837 – “Bearing the mark of genius”, Barbey d'Aurevilly.[2]
  • 1888 – Of a person of genius, Maupassant.[2]
  • c. 1980 – A general term of praise.[3]

Meanings

Adjective

  1. Of genius, inspired: une invention géniale; brilliant, ingenious: une idée géniale.[9][1]
  2. Having genius (of a person): un mathématicien génial.[9][2]
  3. (familiar) Great, fantastic: c'est génial !, un film génial.[9][1]

Word family

  • génialement
  • génialité

References

  1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h Trésor de la langue française informatisé (2004), ATILF – CNRS & Université de Lorraine, atilf.fr/tlfi; electronic version of Imbs, Paul; Quemada, Bernard, eds. (1971–1994), Trésor de la langue française, Paris: CNRS / Gallimard
  3. ^ a b c d e f g Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  4. ^ a b Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
  5. ^ a b Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
  6. ^ Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
  7. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 4, 100a
  8. ^ Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
  9. ^ a b c d Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert