Ancient Greek word root · Life & Nature

gen-: birth, origin, kind

gen- is an Ancient Greek root meaning “birth, origin, kind”. Learn its variants and explore 18 connected words.

Meaning and variants

Meaning: birth, origin, kind

Root forms: gen-, -geny, -genesis, gono-

Source word: γένος — race, stock, kin

Word family and examples

• genetic

  Relating to genetics or genes.

• oxygen

  The chemical element (symbol O) with an atomic number of 8 and relative atomic mass of 15.9994. It is a colorless and odorless gas. Sometimes called elemental oxygen to distinguish it from molecular oxygen.

• hydrogen

  a colorless, odorless gas that is the lightest chemical element

• genesis

  the origin or mode of formation of something

• nitrogen

  The chemical element (symbol N) with an atomic number of 7 and atomic weight of 14.0067. It is a colorless and odorless gas.

• estrogen

  Any of a group of steroids that are secreted by the ovaries and function as female sex hormones.

• genealogy

  a line of descent traced from an ancestor

• homogeneous

  of the same kind; uniform in composition

• pathogen

  An agent that can cause disease, especially an infectious microorganism, such as a bacterium, virus, protozoon or fungus.

• heterogeneous

  diverse in character or content

• pathogenesis

  The origin and development of a disease.

• gonorrhea

  A sexually transmitted infection caused by Neisseria gonorrhoeae, a species of bacteria (the gonococcus) that affects the mucous membrane of the genital and urinary tracts.

• allergen

  A substance which causes an allergic reaction.

• phylogeny

  The evolutionary history of groups of organisms, such as species or clades.

• biogenesis

  The principle that living organisms are produced only from other living organisms.

• morphogenesis

  The differentiation of tissues and subsequent growth of structures in an organism

• orogeny

  The process of mountain building by the upward folding of the Earth's crust.

• allogeneic

  Genetically different because of being derived from separate individuals of the same species.

Root connections help with vocabulary recall. They are not a complete etymological history, and a spelling match alone does not prove a relationship.

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