Geneses

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. The occurrences of development or formation of something, especially in a biological sense
2. The process through which entities originate and evolve, particularly in a creative or conceptual context
3. Instances of beginnings or birth, often referring to multiple origins or phases in a broader scope

Etymology: "Geneses" is the plural of "genesis," which comes from Ancient Greek "génesis," meaning "origin, source, beginning," from the verb "gígnomai," "to be produced, become, be." The Greek noun passed into Latin as "genesis," meaning "generation" or "nativity," and English borrowed it from there. The Greek sense of coming into being is still visible in the word's current range of meanings. Because "genesis" is a borrowing rather than an inherited word, its plural "geneses" follows the Greek and Latin pattern of forming plurals in -es, which is why English speakers can use it for several separate origins at once. The Greek root that gives "genesis" its sense of becoming also sits behind words like "genetic" and "generate," which are doublets of a sort: they share a common ancestry without having arrived in English by the same route.

Synonyms: origins, beginnings, sources, births, creations