Genuine
adjectiveTruly what it is said to be; authentic, sincere, and not faked.
How to spell genuine
7 letters · 3 syllables
How to pronounce genuine
Say the part in capitals loudest.
What does genuine mean?
- adjectiveTruly what it is said to be; authentic, sincere, and not faked.
Genuine in a sentence
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Her offer of help was genuine.
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A genuine apology takes humility.
Where does genuine come from?
Language of origin: Latin
The word comes from the Latin genuinus, meaning 'natural', 'innate', or 'authentic'. That adjective was built on the root gignere, meaning 'to beget' or 'to bring forth', the same family that gave us 'generate', 'genus', and 'genuine' kin like 'gene'. One charming theory links genuinus to genu, the Latin word for 'knee', recalling a Roman custom in which a father acknowledged a newborn as his own by setting the child on his knee, thereby declaring it genuine; whether or not that story is literally true, it captures the idea of something truly belonging. English adopted the word in the late 1500s with the meaning 'truly proceeding from its reputed source', and from there it broadened to describe anything sincere or authentic. The final '-ine' ending is the spelling trap, since it is pronounced as a relaxed 'win' rather than the long 'ine' heard in 'wine' or 'fine'.
How the word is built
- genu- (from genuinus: natural, innate, from gignere 'to beget')
- -ine (adjective suffix)
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