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• genesis
  genesis

  noun

  an origin, creation, or beginning.
• Genesis
  Genesis

  noun

  the first book of the Bible, dealing with the Creation and the Patriarchs. Gen.
• -genesis
  -genesis

  a combining form of genesis.

genesis

¹ American  

[jen-uh-sis] / ˈdʒɛn ə sɪs /

noun

• geneses
  plural

1. an origin, creation, or beginning.

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Genesis ² American  

[jen-uh-sis] / ˈdʒɛn ə sɪs /

noun

1. the first book of the Bible, dealing with the Creation and the Patriarchs. Gen.

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-genesis ³ American  

1. a combining form of genesis.

   parthenogenesis.

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Genesis ¹ British  

/ ˈdʒɛnɪsɪs /

noun

1. the first book of the Old Testament recounting the events from the Creation of the world to the sojourning of the Israelites in Egypt

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-genesis ² British  

combining form

1. indicating genesis, development, or generation

   biogenesis

   parthenogenesis

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genesis ³ British  

/ ˈdʒɛnɪsɪs /

noun

1. a beginning or origin of anything

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Genesis Cultural  

1. 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.

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Usage

What does -genesis mean? The combining form -genesis is used like a suffix meaning “genesis.” Genesis means "an origin, creation, or beginning." The form -genesis is often used in scientific terms, especially in biology. In particular, it describes the process of creation. The form -genesis comes from Greek génesis, meaning “origin” or “source,” source of the English word genesis. The Latin translation of -génesis is orīgō, which is the source of words such as aboriginal and origin. To learn more, check out our entries for both aboriginal and origin. What are variants of -genesis?While the form -genesis doesn't have any variants, it is related to the combining form -genetic, as in phylogenetic. The form -genesis is also closely related to the combining forms -gen, -geny, -genic, and -genous, as in pathogen, heterogeny, hallucinogenic, and heterogenous. Want to know more? Read our Words That Use articles for -genetic, -genic, -geny, -genic, and -genous.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• hypergenesis
  noun
• Genesiac
  adjective
• Genesiacal
  adjective
• Genesitic
  adjective
• -genetic
  combining form

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• geneses
  plural

Etymology

Origin of genesis¹

First recorded in 1595–1605; from Latin: “generation, birth,” from Greek génesis “origin, source”

Origin of Genesis²

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 ( def. )

Explanation

When you talk about the genesis of something, you're talking about where it began. The genesis of hip-hop music was the party scene in New York City’s South Bronx in the 1970s. The Jewish Torah and the Christian Scriptures begin with the book of Genesis, which describes God separating light from darkness and creating the universe. Genesis is the very start of something, its birth. But you probably wouldn't refer to your own birth as a genesis. When you describe something as a genesis, you're usually referring to the beginning of a movement or an idea.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

genesis Genesis geneses

“To me, that’s kind of the genesis of what would ultimately lead him to become an entrepreneur.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 9, 2026

While they’re known for divinatory diversion today, their genesis is anything but lighthearted and involved serious money, serious games and serious art.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 26, 2026

The genesis of their idea was to connect and really bring something powerful and important to society and people.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 2, 2026

James Whale’s 1935 freakquel, “Bride of Frankenstein,” imagined the companion briefly alive, sporting a white-streaked, electric-shocked bouffant before being killed by the Monster moments after her genesis.

From Salon ● Mar. 8, 2026

I guess it’s safe to admit now that at its genesis and at several points along the way this whole undertaking seemed potentially an act of folly.

From "Class Matters" by The New York Times

It appears to be a three-way race between rookie Genesis Smith, Tony Jefferson and RJ Mickens.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 12, 2026

And on the same day he introduced his proposal, Kratsios announced the winners of research grants from the Genesis Mission, the administration’s AI initiative.

From Salon ● Jul. 28, 2026

Ord Minnett has buy calls on Vault and Genesis, with price targets of A$6.60/share and A$7.00/share, respectively.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 13, 2026

The South Korean shed tears of joy and relief after excelling on a compelling final day at the Genesis Scottish Open to claim his first title in three years.

From BBC ● Jul. 12, 2026

Perhaps she could convince him to find another route to faith, one that did not require belief in Genesis.

From "Charles and Emma: The Darwins' Leap of Faith" by Deborah Heiligman

The Morris Trophy started 44 years ago, the geneses of Traci Morris Drake, who first got then-Washington coach Don James on board with the idea before pitching it to the rest of the conference.

From Seattle Times ● Jan. 19, 2024

His idea of evolution also epitomizes the spirit of the nineteenth century with its search everywhere for geneses and transformations—in religion, philology, geology, biology.

From The German Classics of the Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries, Volume 07 Masterpieces of German Literature Translated into English. in Twenty Volumes by Various

Related Words

• origin
• provenance