"genius" in seven languages
Meaninggenius
Spanish
genio
/ˈxenjo/
masc.learned
Also 'temper': tener mal genio.
French
génie
/ʒeni/
masc.learned
Also engineering: le génie civil.
Italian
genio
/ˈdʒɛnjo/
masc.learned
Portuguese
gênio
/ˈʒenju/
masc.learned
Romanian
geniu
/ˈdʒenju/
neut.learned
Catalan
geni
/ˈʒɛni/
masc.learned
English
genius
/ˈdʒinjəs/
from Latin/French · Latin GENIUS
English → ItaliangeniusgenioCognateSame source — inherited, learned or borrowed. You can recognize it.What English and Italian share
The Latin ancestor
GENIUM‘guardian spirit’
All six sisters descend from it, unless marked otherwise below.
The story
A Roman GENIUS was a personal guardian spirit; 'person of great talent' is a modern sense. Trap: Spanish genial and Italian geniale mean 'brilliant', not 'friendly'.
English relatives: genial, congenial
Sound laws at work
Learn it
In a sentence
- esEinstein era un genio.
- frEinstein était un génie.
- itEinstein era un genio.
- ptEinstein era um gênio.
- roEinstein a fost un geniu.
- caEinstein era un geni.
- enEinstein was a genius.