Where does “genii” come from?
Genii comes from English genie, derived from French génie, from Latin genius meaning "attendant spirit" or "inborn character," ultimately from Proto-Indo-European ǵenh₁- meaning "to beget" or "produce."
genii (English): plural of genius; guardian spirits; plural of...
Definitions
- plural of genius; guardian spirits; plural of...
Ancestry of “genii”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | English | genie | A jinn, a being descended from the jann, normally... |
| 2 | French | génie | genie; genius |
| 3 | Latin | genius | the deity or guardian spirit of a person, place,... |
| 4 | Proto-Indo-European | ǵenh₁- | to produce, to beget, to give birth |