gen

Forms

gen n (plural genuri)^[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Latin genus (“birth, race, kind”), a neologism of the 19th century in Ciorănescu's dating.^{[2][3][4][5][6][1]} Latin genus goes back to Proto-Indo-European *ǵénh₁os (“race”), from the root *ǵenh₁- (“to produce, beget”); it is cognate with Ancient Greek γένος (génos, “race, kind”).^[1][7] The same Latin family gave Romanian ginere by inheritance and the neologisms general and gintă.^[8]

Its colloquial use as a particle, “like”, compares with French genre.^[1] A press article of 2010 reports linguists' view that it had become a particle of approximation, “something like that”.^[9]

Earliest recorded meaning

Tiktin dates the first record to a manuscript of Samuil Micu of 1781.^[5] Negulici in 1848 lists it as a neologism meaning “kind, manner”.^[10]

Semantic evolution

In the 19th century it was a learned word for a kind or class and for the grammatical gender.^[11][10] Maiorescu's Logica uses it for a natural group of beings above the species and for a general idea that sums up the common features of several things.^[6][4] It then spread to literature and art (genul epic, pictură de gen “genre painting”) and to everyday speech as “sort, type”.^[3][12]

In the 2000s gen took on the sense “sex, gender” in social science, in phrases such as egalitatea de gen “gender equality”.^[9] Spoken Romanian also uses it as a filler or before a quotation, “like”.^[9][1]

Timeline

• 1781 – in a manuscript of Samuil Micu, the first record.^[5]
• 1848 – in Negulici's dictionary of neologisms.^[10]
• 1870 – “kind; what is common to several species” in Costinescu's dictionary.^[11]
• 1898 – the senses of biology and logic in Maiorescu's Logica.^[4][6]
• 2007 – de gen “of gender” in social science writing.^[9]
• 2010 – the colloquial particle gen “like” discussed in the press.^[9]

Meanings

Noun

1. A kind, sort or type; also someone's manner of being.^[3][4]
2. A genre: a division of works of art by form, style or theme; each of the main kinds of literature: genul epic, genul liric, genul dramatic.^[3]
3. (grammar) gender: the category that distinguishes masculine, feminine and neuter.^[3]
4. (biology) A genus, the rank below the family that holds one or more related species.^[3]
5. (logic) A class of objects with common essential features that comprises at least two species: gen proxim “nearest genus”.^[3]
6. (sociology) Gender, as distinct from biological sex.^[9][1]

Particle

1. (colloquial) A filler word, “like”; also before a quotation or a description.^[1][9]

Word family

• generic

Related words

• general
• gintă
• ginere
• Latin genus

Usage notes

Pictură de gen is painting of scenes from everyday life.^[3] The particle use is informal; a press article of 2010 reported linguists' view that it is not a mistake.^[9]

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g h Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ Ciorănescu, Alexandru (1958–1966), Diccionario etimológico rumano, La Laguna: Universidad de La Laguna (Romanian ed.: Dicționarul etimologic al limbii române, București: Saeculum, 2001), p. s.v. gen
3. ^ a b c d e f g h DEX (2009), Dicționarul explicativ al limbii române [Explanatory dictionary of the Romanian language], Bucharest: Editura Univers Enciclopedic, p. 432
4. ^ a b c d Academia Română, Institutul de Lingvistică „Iorgu Iordan – Al. Rosetti” (2010), Micul dicționar academic, 2nd ed., 4 vols., București: Univers Enciclopedic Gold, p. 1, 982
5. ^ a b c Tiktin, Hariton (2000–2005), Rumänisch-deutsches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., revised by Paul Miron and Elsa Lüder, 3 vols., Cluj-Napoca: Clusium, p. s.v. gen
6. ^ a b c Academia Română (1913–1949), Dicționarul limbii române (DA), ed. Sextil Pușcariu, tom I (A–B, C, D–De) and tom II (F–I, J–Lojniță), București: Socec / Universul / Monitorul Oficial și Imprimeriile Statului; page scans at cflr-scans.solirom.ro, p. s.v. gen
7. ^ Scriban, August (1939), Dicționaru limbii românești (etimologii, înțelesuri, exemple, citațiuni, arhaizme, neologizme, provincializme), Iași: Presa Bună, p. 548
8. ^ Graur, Alexandru (1980), Cuvinte înrudite, București: Editura Științifică și Enciclopedică
9. ^ a b c d e f g h Dimitrescu, Florica (1997), Dicționar de cuvinte recente, 2nd ed., București: Logos (with the 3rd ed., 2013, in CLRE), p. s.v. gen
10. ^ a b c Negulici, I. D. (1848), Vocabular romînesc de toate vorbele streine întroduse pînă acum în limba romînească și de toate cuvintele ce s-ar mai putea introduce încă, București, p. s.v. genu
11. ^ a b Costinescu, Ion (1870), Vocabularu romano-francesu, 2 vols., Bucuresci, p. 1, 479
12. ^ Macrea, Dimitrie; Petrovici, Emil (coord.) (1955–1957), Dicționarul limbii romîne literare contemporane, 4 vols., București: Editura Academiei Republicii Populare Romîne, p. 2, 368