Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “genie” come from?

Genie comes from French génie, from Latin genius meaning "attendant spirit" or "innate quality," from Proto-Indo-European ǵenh₁- meaning "to beget" or "to produce."

genie (English): A jinn, a being descended from the jann, normally...

Definitions

  1. A jinn, a being descended from the jann, normally...

Ancestry of “genie”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Frenchgéniegenie; genius
2Latingeniusthe deity or guardian spirit of a person, place,...
3Proto-Indo-Europeanǵenh₁-to produce, to beget, to give birth

Words derived from “genie”

  • genii
  • genielike
Every word from Proto-Indo-European ǵenh₁- →