gender.
general.
genitive.
genus.
Military. General.
Bible. Genesis.
Geneva.
producing or that which produces
hydrogen
something produced
carcinogen
General
Bible Genesis
What does -gen mean? The combining form -gen is used like a suffix meaning “that which produces.” It is often used in scientific and technical terms, especially in chemistry and biology. The form -gen comes from Greek -genēs, meaning “born” or “produced.” The Latin translation and cognate of -genēs is nātus, meaning “born,” which is the source of natal, native, and nature. Find out how these terms derive from nātus at our entry for each word. What are variants of -gen?While the form -gen doesn't have any variants, it is related to the combining forms -genic, -geny, and -genous, as in heterogenic, heterogeny, and heterogenous. The form -gen is also closely related to the combining forms -genesis and -genetic as in carcinogenesis and autogenetic. Read our Words That Use articles for -genic, -geny, -genous, -genesis, and -genetic to learn more.
< French -gène ≪ Greek -genēs born, produced; akin to Latin genus, kin
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The word collagen actually derives from the Greek kolla, meaning glue, and the suffix -gen, meaning producer.
From Slate ● Feb. 15, 2012
EIA sees power gen. from coal sliding 15% in ’12, nat gas increases 24%.
From Washington Post ● May 9, 2012
The gen. is used in combination with the comparative of adjectives, as dicker eines dūmes, thicker by the breadth of a thumb.
From A Middle High German Primer Third Edition by Wright, Joseph
The oblique cases in the singular have no s, because the accusative in Latin, and likewise the gen., dat., and abl., ended either in vowels, which became mute, or in m, which was dropped.
From Chips From A German Workshop. Vol. III. Essays on Literature, Biography, and Antiquities by Müller, F. Max (Friedrich Max)
Liues, gen. c. as adv. alive, 509, 1003, 1307, 1919, 2854.
From The Lay of Havelok the Dane by Unknown
The gen. plural had the ending of the weak declension already in the oldest period of the language.
From A Middle High German Primer Third Edition by Wright, Joseph
Gen. James Mattis urged every Marine to read two books—Marcus Aurelius’ “Meditations” and E.B.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 21, 2026
Gen. Mykhailo Drapatiy, who has publicly praised Fedorov.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 19, 2026
Gen. Rob Bonta in March filed a brief in support of the plaintiffs’ first preliminary injunction motion.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 17, 2026
One thing is clear: Mykhailo Fedorov and Gen. Syrskyi had clearly fallen out by the time President Zelensky made his move this week.
From BBC ● Jul. 17, 2026
It wouldn’t make sense for Valencia to be up there with Kaori and Gen. They didn’t even know each other.
From "Hello, Universe" by Erin Entrada Kelly
ServiceNow’s gen AI product, Now Assist, surpassed $600 million in annual contract value in the fourth quarter.
From Barron's ● Mar. 16, 2026
Here are some examples of prompts from analysts and portfolio managers who are leveraging gen AI to work better and faster:
From MarketWatch ● Feb. 25, 2026
The third gen also ditched the inhumanely small third row seats for the U.S. market.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 12, 2026
“There are thousands of group chats like this where gen z people talk like that,” he said.
From Slate ● Oct. 15, 2025
They had transmuted carbon into radioactive nitro gen.
From "Big Science" by Michael Hiltzik
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
