genie English · revision 2444

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ˈd͡ʒiː.ni/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[bor|fr|génie|t=spirit]],^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline) [[der|la|genius|t=guardian spirit]].^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(RHWU) The French word was used by the translator of the ''Arabian Nights'' for Arabic ''jinnī'', which it happened to resemble,^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1995)^(OED 1989) so Merriam-Webster gives Arabic ''jinnī'' as its source.^(MW Collegiate)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ A guardian spirit (1655).^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Like ''genius'', the word first meant a tutelary spirit, and also a person's natural bent (1662).^(OED 1989) From 1748 it was used for the jinn of Arabian stories,^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline) and this is the only living sense:^(MW Collegiate)^(Wiktionary) a magic spirit that appears in human form and does the bidding of whoever summons it.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1655 – a guardian spirit (obsolete).^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1995)

+ * 1662 – natural bent, disposition (obsolete).^(OED 1989)

+ * 1676 – a person of genius (obsolete).^(OED 1989)

+ * 1748 – a jinni of Arabian demonology.^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1995)^(MW Collegiate)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A magic spirit that carries out the wishes of whoever summons it.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+ # A jinni, a spirit of Arabian and Islamic belief.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[genius]]

+ * [[jinn]]

+ * [[jinni]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}