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genesis

[ jen-uh-sis ]
/ ˈdʒɛn ə sɪs /
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noun, plural gen·e·ses [jen-uh-seez]. /ˈdʒɛn əˌsiz/.
an origin, creation, or beginning.
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Origin of genesis

1595–1605; <Latin: generation, birth <Greek génesis origin, source

OTHER WORDS FROM genesis

hy·per·gen·e·sis, noun

Other definitions for genesis (2 of 3)

Genesis
[ jen-uh-sis ]
/ ˈdʒɛn ə sɪs /
noun
the first book of the Bible, dealing with the Creation and the Patriarchs. Abbreviation: Gen.

Origin of Genesis

First recorded before 1100; from Latin: literally “generation, creation,” from Greek Génesis, the Greek rendering of Hebrew bĕrēʾshith, the first word of the Biblical book, traditionally translated “in the beginning”; see genesis

OTHER WORDS FROM Genesis

Ge·ne·si·ac [juh-nee-see-ak], /dʒəˈni siˌæk/, Gen·e·si·a·cal [jen-uh-sahy-uh-kuhl], /ˌdʒɛn əˈsaɪ ə kəl/, Gen·e·sit·ic [jen-uh-sit-ik] /dʒɛn ə ˈsɪt ɪk/ adjective

Other definitions for genesis (3 of 3)

-genesis
a combining form of genesis: parthenogenesis.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Words related to genesis

origin, provenance, alpha, birth, commencement, dawn, formation, generation, inception, opening, outset, propagation, provenience, root, source, start, engendering

How to use genesis in a sentence

  • Oukoun achrston estin eis tas iaseis, hs Erasistratos phsin, epistasthai talthes auto peri geneses chols.

    On the Natural Faculties|Galen

  • Peri prts oun ts geneses eipmen, hn ex alloises th' hama kai diaplases elegomen gignesthai.

    On the Natural Faculties|Galen

  • The majority of men content themselves with the grain of rice sown in the first chapter of all the Geneses.

    Seraphita|Honore de Balzac

British Dictionary definitions for genesis (1 of 3)

genesis
/ (ˈdʒɛnɪsɪs) /
noun plural -ses (-ˌsiːz)
a beginning or origin of anything

Word Origin for genesis

Old English: via Latin from Greek; related to Greek gignesthai to be born

British Dictionary definitions for genesis (2 of 3)

Genesis
/ (ˈdʒɛnɪsɪs) /
noun
the first book of the Old Testament recounting the events from the Creation of the world to the sojourning of the Israelites in Egypt

British Dictionary definitions for genesis (3 of 3)

-genesis
n combining form
indicating genesis, development, or generationbiogenesis; parthenogenesis

Derived forms of -genesis

-genetic or -genic, adj combining form

Word Origin for -genesis

New Latin, from Latin: genesis
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Cultural definitions for genesis

Genesis

The first book of the Old Testament; its first words are “In the beginning” (genesis is a Greek word for “beginning”). It covers the time from the beginning of the world through the days of the patriarchs, including the stories of the Creation, Adam and Eve, the Fall of Man, Cain and Abel, Noah and the Flood, God's covenant with Abraham, Abraham and Isaac, Jacob and Esau, and Joseph and his brothers.

The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
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