gen

See also: Appendix:Variations of "gen"

Languages (36)

Translingual • English

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Catalan • Chinese • Cornish • Czech • Danish • Dutch • German • Guianese Creole • Haitian Creole • Icelandic • Indonesian • Italian • Japanese • Malay • Mandarin • Middle English • Mwotlap • Norwegian Bokmål • Norwegian Nynorsk • Old English • Old High German • Old Irish • Old Occitan • Polish • Romanian • Spanish • Swedish • Tok Pisin • Turkish • Vietnamese • Vurës • Welsh • Zhuang • Zou

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Page categories

Translingual

Etymology

Abbreviation of English Geman Deng.

Symbol

gen

1. (international standards, obsolete) Former ISO 639-3 language code for Geman Deng.

English

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /d͡ʒɛn/

• Audio (Australia):

  (file)

• Homophones: Jen, Gen
• Rhymes: -ɛn

Etymology 1

Clipping of general.

Noun

gen (uncountable)

1. (chiefly UK, Ireland, Commonwealth, informal) Information.
   • 2015, Nicholas Whittaker, Platform Souls: The Trainspotter as 20th-Century Hero:

     Nose around any modest-sized station and the odds are you'll find that the chargeman's office doubles as a bashers' club, a place where shivering spotters can get warm and catch up on the gen.

2. (birdwatching) Information about the location of a bird.
   • 2005, Sean Dooley, The Big Twitch, Sydney: Allen and Unwin, page 172:

     I had some recent gen that they had been seen quite recently at Kunoth Well, a little dot on the map on the edge of the Tanami Desert.

4. (fandom slang) Fan fiction that does not specifically focus on romance or sex.

   Synonym: genfic

Adjective

gen (not comparable)

1. general

Derived terms

• gen chem

See also

• genned in
• gen up

Etymology 2

Noun

gen (plural gens)

1. Alternative letter-case form of Gen (“member of the Gen Movement”).

Etymology 3

Shortened from generate and generator.

Verb

gen (third-person singular simple present gens, present participle genning, simple past and past participle genned)

1. To generate using an automated process, especially a computer program.

   genned with a LLM

   • 1991, Bruce H. Hunter, Karen Bradford Hunter, UNIX Systems: Advanced Administration and Management Handbook:

     Defining the devices so that they will be genned during the sysgen and installation is the other half.

   • 1993, Debra R. Niedermiller-Chaffins, Drew Heywood, Inside Novell NetWare, →ISBN, page 100:

     The older, genned files are difficult to keep up-to-date and are unsupported for some newer NICs.

   • 2010, Donald K. Burleson, Oracle Tuning: The Definitive Reference, →ISBN, page 1109:

     As the capacities of the large servers are exceeded, a new server is genned into the RAC cluster.

   • 2012, Robert Charles Wilson, Bios, →ISBN:

     The Turing factories on Isis's small moon had fallen short of productivity goals, though another two factory units had been genned.

Noun

gen (plural gens)

1. (slang) A generator (device that converts mechanical to electrical energy).

   Synonym: genny

Etymology 4

Shortened from genetic engineering

Verb

gen (third-person singular simple present gens, present participle genning, simple past and past participle genned)

1. (science fiction) To genetically engineer.
   • 2008, Bart Dahmer, Primal Screams, →ISBN, page 36:

     Samples could be taken from the original, and plans could be made, but genning could not be initiated until death had occurred.

   • 2011, Karen Sandler, Tankborn, →ISBN, page 28:

     Her nurturer ears, genned to be hyper-sensitive, had to be hurting from the noise.

Etymology 5

Etymology unknown. Possibilities include:

• Clipping of argent
• Clipping of generalise, from back slang for English shilling.

Noun

gen (plural gens)

1. (obsolete, UK, slang) A shilling.
   • 1851, Henry Mayhew, “Gambling of Costermongers”, in London Labour and the London Poor‎^[1], volume 1, page 17:

     The betting also began to shift. "Sixpence Ned wins!" cried three or four; "Sixpence he loses!" answered another; "Done!" and up went the halfpence. "Half-a-crown Joe loses!"—"Here you are," answered Joe, but he lost again. "I'll try you a 'gen'" (shilling) said a coster; "And a 'rouf yenap'" (fourpence), added the other. "Say a 'exes'" (sixpence).—"Done!" and the betting continued, till the ground was spotted with silver and halfpence.

   • 1978, Rose Ayers, The Street Sparrows:

     "Give me two gen, then, and take the whole bloody tol. I've walked me teef orf afore rouf this mornin', and wot 'ave I got? Two bloody yenneps! I ask yer."

Etymology 6

Clipping of generation.

Noun

gen (plural gens)

1. (informal) A generation (group of people born in a specific range of years).
   • 2022 June 28, “Wimbledon tennis: Fans react to Kristina Mladenovic's eye-catching outfit”, in The New Zealand Herald‎^[2], archived from the original on 26 October 2022:

     "Mladenovic playing in what the young gen is calling a crop top, but what my gen is calling a bra," Bouchard tweeted. "Sign of the times that Wimbledon has no issue with that. Still can remember the year some had troubles because of 'too short' skirts lol."

   • 2022 July 4, Ben Schott, “Is There Anything That Gen Z Won’t Drink?”, in The Washington Post‎^[3]:

     It’s anyone’s guess whether such attitudes will persist into adulthood, but if Gen Z (and the gens to come) do prove more alco-skeptic than their forbears then the above twelve steps are deftly primed to cash in.

2. (informal, in combination) A specific version of something in a chronological sequence.
   • 2004, Sally Bishai, “Courtship, Marriage and the Ubiquitous ‘Dating Thing’”, in Mid-East Meets West: On Being and Becoming a Modern Arab American, Lincoln, Neb.: iUniverse, →ISBN, page 57:

     For my fellow first-gens, get ready to hide a smirk, because your life story is likely hidden somewhere in this chapter. For the uninitiated—that is, the person who's never had a thing to do with the Arab way of doing things (namely dating)—I advise you to buckle up.

   • 2016, Dwight Lang, “Witnessing Social Class in the Academy”, in Allison L. Hurst, Sandi Kawecka Nenga, editors, Working in Class: Recognizing How Social Class Shapes Our Academic Work, Lanham, Md.: Rowman & Littlefield, →ISBN, part 2 (Teaching), page 102:

     […] I witness firsthand the difficult "downstream" outcomes (Grusky 2014) of social class stratification in a university setting where approximately 3,400 undergraduates (13% of the undergraduate population) are first in their families to attend and/or graduate from college (first-gens). Most of these students are low income and nearly 1,200 first-gens have grown up in poverty.

   • 2017, Temple Fennell, “SCIE: Sustainable Cycle of Investing Engagement”, in Kirby Rosplock, The Complete Direct Investing Handbook: A Guide for Family Offices, Qualified Purchasers, and Accredited Investors (Bloomberg Financial Series), Hoboken, N.J.: John Wiley & Sons, →ISBN, page 242:

     The Family Values and Framing Strategy steps address soft issues as what is the purpose of the new investment strategy, is there a desire to engage and train the next generation (Next Gens), and is there building buy-in and engagement across the family members important to strengthen family unity.

Derived terms

• gen AI
• Gen Alpha
• Gen X
• Gen Z
• iGen
• newgen
• next-gen
• proc-gen

Etymology 7

Adverb

gen (not comparable)

1. (Internet slang) Clipping of genuinely.

Anagrams

• Neg, ENG, neg, Eng., eng, neg., eng., NGE, /neg, NEG

Catalan

Etymology

Borrowed from German Gen.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): (Northern) [ˈʒe̞n]
• IPA^(key): (Balearic, Central) [ˈʒɛn]
• IPA^(key): (Valencia) [ˈd͡ʒen]
• IPA^(key): (Northwestern) [ˈʒen]

• Audio (Barcelona):

  (file)

Noun

gen m (plural gens)

1. gene

Related terms

• genètic
• genètica
• genetista
• gènic
• genoma
• genotip

Further reading

• Alcover, Antoni Maria; Moll, Francesc de Borja (1963), “gen”, in Diccionari català-valencià-balear (in Catalan)
• “gen” in Diccionari normatiu valencià, Acadèmia Valenciana de la Llengua.
• “gen”, in Gran Diccionari de la Llengua Catalana, Grup Enciclopèdia Catalana, 2026
• “gen”, in Diccionari de la llengua catalana [Dictionary of the Catalan Language] (in Catalan), second edition, Institute of Catalan Studies [Catalan: Institut d'Estudis Catalans], April 2007

Chinese

Etymology

From English gen, clipping of English generate.

Pronunciation

• Cantonese (Jyutping): zen¹

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• Cantonese
  • (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)⁺
    • Jyutping: zen¹
    • Cantonese Pinyin: dzen¹
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /t͡sɛːn⁵⁵/

Verb

gen

1. (Hong Kong Cantonese) to generate using an automated process, especially a computer program
   • 2001 December 5, zelda, “從林夕看港樂壇”, in hk.entertainment‎^[4] (Usenet):

     唉 , 唔該各填詞人真o系唔好再o甘粗制濫造 , 尤其是而家d作曲-編曲既"創作"悶到好似穩電腦gen譜o甘 [Cantonese, trad.]
     唉 , 唔该各填词人真o系唔好再o甘粗制滥造 , 尤其是而家d作曲-编曲既"创作"闷到好似稳电脑gen谱o甘 [Cantonese, simp.]

     aai¹, m⁴ goi¹ gok³ tin⁴ ci⁴ jan⁴ zan¹ hai⁶ m⁴ hou² zoi³ gam³ cou¹ zai³ laam⁶ zou⁶, jau⁴ kei⁴ si⁶ ji⁴ gaa¹ di¹ zok³ kuk¹ - pin¹ kuk¹ ge³ " cong³ zok³ " mun⁶ dou³ hou² ci⁵ wan² din⁶ nou⁵ zen¹ pou² gam² [Jyutping]

     (please add an English translation of this quotation)

   • 2016, 于日辰, 倫敦金 [Lon Don Gold], Hong Kong: 點子出版 [Idea Publication], →ISBN, page 71:

     呢堆冧把擺明就亂Gen出嚟！ [Cantonese, trad.]
     呢堆冧把摆明就乱Gen出嚟！ [Cantonese, simp.]

     ne¹ deoi¹ lam¹ baa² baai² ming⁴ zau⁶ lyun⁶ zen¹ ceot¹ lei⁴! [Jyutping]

     This bunch of numbers are obviously randomly generated!

Cornish

Etymology 1

Picture dictionary

gen

klopen

ympynnyon

tal

lagas

abrans

tron

ganow

gweus

elgeth

gen

bogh

skovarn

er

konna

briansen

kil

Click on labels in the image

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korf

From Proto-Brythonic *gen, from Proto-Celtic *genus, from Proto-Indo-European *ǵénus. Cognate with Gaulish gena, Irish gion, and Welsh gên.

Noun

gen f (dual diwen, plural genyow)

1. jaw

Etymology 2

See gans.

Preposition

gen

1. (Revived Late Cornish) alternative form of gans (“with”)

Inflection

Inflection of gen

		singular	plural
1st person		genam / genama / gena vy	genen / gena nei
2nd person		genes / gena jy	genowgh / gena hwei
3rd person	m	ganjo / gans ev	gansa
	f	genji / gans hei

Mutation

Mutation of gen

radical	soft	aspirate	hard	mixed
gen	en	unchanged	ken	hen

Note: Certain mutated forms of some words can never occur in standard Cornish.
All possible mutated forms are displayed for convenience.

Czech

Etymology

Borrowed from German Gen.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ˈɡɛn]

• Audio:

  (file)

• Hyphenation: gen
• Rhymes: -ɛn

Noun

gen m inan

1. gene

Declension

Declension of gen (hard masculine inanimate)

	singular	plural
nominative	gen	geny
genitive	genu	genů
dative	genu	genům
accusative	gen	geny
vocative	gene	geny
locative	genu	genech
instrumental	genem	geny

Related terms

• genetický
• genetika
• genový

Further reading

• “gen”, in Příruční slovník jazyka českého (in Czech), 1935–1957
• “gen”, in Slovník spisovného jazyka českého (in Czech), 1960–1971, 1989
• “gen”, in Internetová jazyková příručka (in Czech), 2008–2026

Danish

Etymology 1

From German Gen, from Ancient Greek γενεά (geneá, “generation, descent”), from the aorist infinitive of γίγνομαι (gígnomai, “to come into being”). Coined by the Danish biologist Wilhelm Ludvig Johannsen in a German-language publication.

Noun

gen n (singular definite genet, plural indefinite gener)

1. (genetics) gene

Declension

Declension of gen

neuter gender	singular		plural
	indefinite	definite	indefinite	definite
nominative	gen	genet	gener	generne
genitive	gens	genets	geners	genernes

Etymology 2

Verb

gen

1. imperative of genne

References

• “gen” in Den Danske Ordbog

Dutch

Etymology

From German Gen, from Ancient Greek γενεά (geneá, “generation, descent”), from the aorist infinitive of γίγνομαι (gígnomai, “to come into being”). Coined by the Danish biologist Wilhelm Ludvig Johannsen in a German-language publication.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɣɛn/

• Audio:

  (file)

Noun

gen n (plural genen, no diminutive)

1. gene

Descendants

• → Indonesian: gen

Anagrams

• eng

German

Etymology

From Middle High German gēn, gein, from gegen with elision of intervocalic -g- (compare Getreide, Maid). Doublet of gegen (“against”). Cognate with Yiddish קיין (keyn).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɡeːn/, /ɡɛn/

• Audio (Germany (Berlin)):

  (file)

• Homophones: gehn, Gen (according to the first pronunciation)

Preposition

gen [with accusative]

1. (literary, somewhat dated) in the direction; to; towards (a place or time)

   gen Norden ― to the north, northwards

   gen Abend ― towards the evening, in the late afternoon

   • 1851, Heinrich Heine, “Nachwort”, in Romanzero‎^[5], Hamburg: Hoffmann und Campe:

     […] das tönende Grab des Zauberers Merlinus, welches sich im Walde Brozeliand in der Bretagne befindet, unter hohen Eichen, deren Wipfel wie grüne Flammen gen Himmel lodern.

     (please add an English translation of this quotation)

Synonyms

• (in) Richtung (place); gegen (time)

Further reading

• “gen” in Duden online
• “gen”, in Digitales Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache‎^[6] (in German)

Anagrams

• eng

Guianese Creole

Verb

gen

1. alternative form of ganyen (“to have”)

References

• Barthelemi, Georges (1995), Dictionnaire pratique créole guyanais - français [Practical Guianese Creole-French Dictionary] (in French), Cayenne: Ibis Rouge Éditions, →ISBN, page 90

Haitian Creole

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɡɛ̃/

Verb

gen

1. contraction of genyen (“to have”)

References

• Targète, Jean; Urciolo, Raphael (1993), Haitian Creole-English Dictionary‎^[7], Dunwoody Press, →ISBN, page 74

Icelandic

Etymology

Borrowed from German Gen.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ˈkɛːn]

Noun

gen n (genitive singular gens, nominative plural gen)

1. gene

Declension

Declension of gen (neuter)

	singular		plural
	indefinite	definite	indefinite	definite
nominative	gen	genið	gen	genin
accusative	gen	genið	gen	genin
dative	geni	geninu	genum	genunum
genitive	gens	gensins	gena	genanna

Indonesian

Etymology

Borrowed from Dutch gen.

Pronunciation

• (Standard Indonesian) IPA^(key): /ˈɡɛn/ [ˈɡen]
• Rhymes: -ɛn
• Syllabification: gen

Noun

gen (plural gen-gen)

1. (genetics) gene (a theoretical unit of heredity of living organisms)

Derived terms

• gen pul (“gene pool”)

Further reading

• “gen”, in Kamus Besar Bahasa Indonesia [Great Dictionary of the Indonesian Language] (in Indonesian), Jakarta: Agency for Language Development and Cultivation – Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology of the Republic of Indonesia, 2016

Italian

Noun

gen m

1. alternative form of gen.: abbreviation of gennaio (“January”)

   Coordinate terms: feb, mar, apr, mag, giu, lug, ago, set, ott, nov, dic

Japanese

Romanization

gen

1. Rōmaji transcription of げん
2. Rōmaji transcription of ゲン

Malay

Etymology

Borrowed from Dutch gen (“gene”), from German Gen (which was coined by Danish biologist Wilhelm Ludvig Johannsen in a German-language publication), from Ancient Greek γενεά (geneá, “generation, descent”), from the aorist infinitive of γίγνομαι (gígnomai, “to come into being”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈɡen/
• Rhymes: -en

Noun

gen (plural gen-gen)

1. gene
   1. (genetics) a theoretical unit of heredity of living organisms; a gene may take several values and in principle predetermines a precise trait of an organism's form (phenotype), such as hair colour.
   2. (molecular biology) locus: a segment of DNA or RNA from a cell's or an organism's genome, that may take several forms and thus parameterizes a phenomenon, in general the structure of a protein.

Derived terms

• aliran gen
• bank gen
• frekuensi gen
• gen resesif
• keekspresian gen
• penggantian gen
• takung gen
• tindakan gen

Further reading

• "gen" in Pusat Rujukan Persuratan Melayu (PRPM) [Malay Literary Reference Centre (PRPM)] (in Malay), Kuala Lumpur: Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka, 2017
  (also see "gen" at PRPM first version)

Mandarin

Romanization

gen

1. nonstandard spelling of gēn
2. nonstandard spelling of gén
3. nonstandard spelling of gěn
4. nonstandard spelling of gèn

Usage notes

• Transcriptions of Mandarin into the Latin script often do not distinguish between the critical tonal differences employed in the Mandarin language, using words such as this one without indication of tone.

Middle English

Preposition

gen

1. alternative form of gain (“against”)

Mwotlap

Etymology

From Proto-Torres-Banks *ɣani, from Proto-North-Central Vanuatu *kani, from Proto-Oceanic *kani, from Proto-Eastern Malayo-Polynesian *kan, from Proto-Central-Eastern Malayo-Polynesian *kan, from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *kaən, from Proto-Austronesian *kaən. Cognate with Vurës gen.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɣɛn/

Verb

gen

1. (transitive, of food) to eat

   Coordinate term: kuy (of humans)

   Gen!

   Eat it!

   Kem me-gen nō-mōmō, kem me-gen ne-beg l-ēm̄.

   We ate fish and breadfruit in the house.

2. (transitive, figurative) to suffer (something unpleasant); to be forced to receive or do something in the form of a test

   No mal tēytēy bah nō-wōlin̄lin̄yeg, tō nēk gen ēgēn!

   I've finished hiding the tokens, so now you have to suffer them! [i.e. endure the trial of rummaging through the sand with your hand]

3. (transitive, traditional) to acquire (an honorific rank in the initiatory hierarchy) [with na-qyēn̄i or the name of an initiatory grade]

   Kē me-gen nē-tētuw; kē me-gen na-lan̄.

   He passed the netetuw grade, and he passed the nalan grade.

   (literally, “He ate the grade netetuw, he ate the grade nalan.”)

4. (transitive, of fire) to consume, to burn something

   N-ēm̄ non bōbō mino, n-ep me-gen qēt.

   Fire completely consumed my grandparent's house.

   N-ep me-gen mat kē.

   S/he burned to death in the fire.

   (literally, “The fire ate-killed him/her.”)

5. (intransitive, of fire) to burn, to be alight

   Synonym: law

   N-ep ni-gen.

   The fire is burning.

Derived terms

• gen heylō (“to complete all the grades of initiation”)
• gen nō-qōn (“to commemorate the deceased with a meal”)
• gengen (“to take a meal, to eat”)

References

• François, Alexandre (2026), “gen”, in Online Mwotlap–English–French cultural dictionary‎^[8] (electronic files; overall work in English and French), Paris: CNRS

  PDF version

Norwegian Bokmål

Noun

gen n (definite singular genet, indefinite plural gener, definite plural gena or genene)

1. (biology) a gene

Usage notes

• Prior to a revision in 2020, this noun was also considered grammatically masculine. The form genen was then made obsolete.

References

• “gen” in The Bokmål Dictionary.

Norwegian Nynorsk

Noun

gen n (definite singular genet, indefinite plural gen, definite plural gena)

1. (biology) a gene

Usage notes

• Prior to a revision in 2020, this noun was also considered grammatically masculine. The forms genen, genar, and genane were then made obsolete.

References

• “gen” in The Nynorsk Dictionary.

Old English

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /jeːn/
• Rhymes: -eːn

Etymology 1

From Proto-Germanic *ju.

Adverb

ġēn

1. still, yet

Etymology 2

At least partly, a variant of ġēan

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /jeːn/

Adverb

ġēn

1. again, further
   • 10th century, The Whale:

     Nū iċ fitte ġēn ymb fisca cynn wille wōðcræfte wordum cȳþan þurh mōdġemynd bī þām miclan hwale.

     Now, I wish again to tell a song about fishkind by words of speech-craft through mind-thoughts about the great whale.

Etymology 3

Ultimately from Proto-Germanic *gagniz (“near, close”), see *gagin.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /jeːn/

Adjective

ġēn

1. short, direct, near (in distance)

References

• Vladimir Orel (2003), “*ʒaʒniz”, in A Handbook of Germanic Etymology‎^[9], Leiden, Boston: Brill, →ISBN, page 122
• Joseph Bosworth; T. Northcote Toller (1898), “gén”, in An Anglo-Saxon Dictionary, second edition, Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Old High German

Etymology

The form gēn appears early on in Bavarian, later spreading to eastern and southern Franconian and to the newly developing East Central German. Its origins are unknown. One theory invokes the original paradigm of Proto-West Germanic *gān, which had *ai in the 2nd and 3rd persons singular of the present; compare Middle Low German gân > he geit, modern Colognian jonn > hä jeiht, etc. The Old High German ē might thus be explained as a compromise vowel between ā and ei. What lends credence to this theory is the fact that Old High German ē cannot have developed regularly in the given position, as *ai becomes ē only before h, r, w, and word-finally.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɡeːn/, (early) [ɡɛːn]

Verb

gēn

1. alternative form of gān (“to go”)

Descendants

• Middle High German: gēn
  • German: gehen, gehn

See also

• stēn

Old Irish

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈɡʲen/

Etymology 1

From Proto-Celtic *gʷenom.

Noun

gen n or f

1. smile, laugh
2. sport, levity

Inflection

The Dictionary of the Irish Language believes that this was a u-stem, while Matasović disputes this classification since *giun would be expected from such a stem due to raising and u-infection; he declares it an o-stem. All forms except the nominative are unattested.

Neuter o-stem

	singular	dual	plural
nominative	genN	genN	genL, gena
vocative	genN	genN	genL, gena
accusative	genN	genN	genL, gena
genitive	ginL	gen	genN
dative	giunL	genaib	genaib

Initial mutations of a following adjective:

• ^H = triggers aspiration
• ^L = triggers lenition
• ^N = triggers nasalization

Derived terms

• gentraige

Etymology 2

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

Noun

gen f

1. sword

Inflection

Feminine ā-stem

	singular	dual	plural
nominative	genL	ginL	genaH
vocative	genL	ginL	genaH
accusative	ginN	ginL	genaH
genitive	gineH	genL	genN
dative	ginL	genaib	genaib

Initial mutations of a following adjective:

• ^H = triggers aspiration
• ^L = triggers lenition
• ^N = triggers nasalization

Mutation

Mutation of gen

radical	lenition	nasalization
gen	gen pronounced with /ɣʲ-/	ngen

Note: Certain mutated forms of some words can never occur in Old Irish.
All possible mutated forms are displayed for convenience.

Old Occitan

Adjective

gen m (feminine singular genta, masculine plural gens, feminine plural gentas)

1. attractive; pleasing; nice; fair; pleasant
   • 12th century, Bernard de Ventadour^(Wikisource)

     Lo gens tems de pascor

     The pleasant time of Easter

References

• Walther von Wartburg (1928–2002), “genitus”, in Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch (in German), volume 4: G H I, page 103

Polish

Etymology

Internationalism; compare English gene, French gène, German Gen, ultimately from Ancient Greek γενεᾱ́ (geneā́).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈɡɛn/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɛn
• Syllabification: gen
• Homophone: -gen

Noun

gen m inan (related adjective genowy)

1. (genetics) gene (theoretical unit of heredity of living organisms; it may take several values and, in principle, predetermines a precise trait of an organism's form (phenotype), such as hair color)
2. (literary) gene (trait inherited from ancestors)

Declension

Declension of gen

	singular	plural
nominative	gen	geny
genitive	genu	genów
dative	genowi	genom
accusative	gen	geny
instrumental	genem	genami
locative	genie	genach
vocative	genie	geny

Related terms

adverbs

• genowo

nouns

• bank genów

Further reading

• “gen”, in Wielki słownik języka polskiego‎^[10] (in Polish), Instytut Języka Polskiego PAN
• “gen”, in Polish dictionaries at PWN‎^[11] (in Polish)
• gen in PWN's encyclopedia

Romanian

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin genus. For the particle sense, compare French genre.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /d͡ʒen/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Rhymes: -en

Noun

gen n (plural genuri)

1. type, sort, kind

   Synonyms: fel, soi, tip

   ceva de genul (informal) ― something of the sort

2. (dated) way of being, manner, attitude
3. genre
4. (grammar) gender
5. (sociology) gender
6. (taxonomy) genus

Declension

	singular		plural
	indefinite	definite	indefinite	definite
nominative-accusative	gen	genul	genuri	genurile
genitive-dative	gen	genului	genuri	genurilor
vocative	genule		genurilor

Derived terms

• de genul

Particle

gen (colloquial)

1. Filler word: like.
2. Precedes a quotation or description: like.

Derived terms

• fi gen

References

• “gen”, in DEX online—Dicționare ale limbii române (Dictionaries of the Romanian language) (in Romanian), 2004–2026

Spanish

Etymology

Borrowed from German Gen.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈxen/ [ˈxẽn]

• Audio (Colombia):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -en
• Syllabification: gen

Noun

gen m (plural genes)

1. gene

Derived terms

• génico

Further reading

• “gen”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8.1, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 15 December 2025

Swedish

Etymology 1

From Old Norse gegn (“straight, direct”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /jeːn/

• Audio:

  (file)

Adjective

gen (comparative genare, superlative genast)

1. gain; short, direct

Related terms

• gena
• genväg
• framgent

Etymology 2

From German Gen.

Noun

gen c

1. gene

Declension

Declension of gen

		nominative	genitive
singular	indefinite	gen	gens
	definite	genen	genens
plural	indefinite	gener	geners
	definite	generna	genernas

Related terms

• genetik
• genetisk
• genom

References

• “gen”, in Svensk ordbok [Dictionary of Swedish] (in Swedish)
• “gen”, in Svenska Akademiens ordlista [Wordlist of the Swedish Academy] (in Swedish)
• “gen”, in Svenska Akademiens ordbok [Dictionary of the Swedish Academy] (in Swedish)

Anagrams

• eng.

Tok Pisin

Etymology

From English again.

Adverb

gen

1. again
   • 1989, Buk Baibel long Tok Pisin, Port Moresby: Bible Society of Papua New Guinea, Jenesis 2:21:

     Orait God, Bikpela i mekim man i slip i dai tru. Na taim man i slip yet, God i kisim wanpela bun long banis bilong man na i pasim gen skin bilong dispela hap.

     →New International Version translation

References

• Volker, C. A. (general editor), et al. (2008), Papua New Guinea Tok Pisin English Dictionary, Oxford University Press in association with Wantok Niuspepa, →ISBN, page 20

Turkish

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɟæn/

Etymology 1

From Ottoman Turkish كیك (geñ), from Proto-Turkic *kēŋ (“wide, broad”).

Cognate with Yakut киэҥ (kieŋ, “wide”), Bashkir киң (keñ), Kazakh кең (keŋ), etc.

Adjective

gen

1. (obsolete, dialectal) wide

   Synonym: geniş

   Antonym: dar

Declension

Predicative forms of gen

present tense
	positive declarative	positive interrogative
ben (I am)	genim	gen miyim?
sen (you are)	gensin	gen misin?
o (he/she/it is)	gen / gendir	gen mi?
biz (we are)	geniz	gen miyiz?
siz (you are)	gensiniz	gen misiniz?
onlar (they are)	gen(ler)	gen(ler) mi?
past tense
	positive declarative	positive interrogative
ben (I was)	gendim	gen miydim?
sen (you were)	gendin	gen miydin?
o (he/she/it was)	gendi	gen miydi?
biz (we were)	gendik	gen miydik?
siz (you were)	gendiniz	gen miydiniz?
onlar (they were)	gendiler	gen miydiler?
indirect past
	positive declarative	positive interrogative
ben (I was)	genmişim	gen miymişim?
sen (you were)	genmişsin	gen miymişsin?
o (he/she/it was)	genmiş	gen miymiş?
biz (we were)	genmişiz	gen miymişiz?
siz (you were)	genmişsiniz	gen miymişsiniz?
onlar (they were)	genmişler	gen miymişler?
conditional
	positive declarative	positive interrogative
ben (if I)	gensem	gen miysem?
sen (if you)	gensen	gen miysen?
o (if he/she/it)	gense	gen miyse?
biz (if we)	gensek	gen miysek?
siz (if you)	genseniz	gen miyseniz?
onlar (if they)	genseler	gen miyseler?

For negative forms, use the appropriate form of değil.

Derived terms

• genel
• genleşmek

Etymology 2

Noun

gen (definite accusative geni, plural genler)

1. (colloquial) A field that wasn't plowed for several years.

Etymology 3

Borrowed from French gene.

Noun

gen (definite accusative geni, plural genler)

1. (biology) gene

Declension

Declension of gen

singular plural nominative gen genler definite accusative geni genleri dative gene genlere locative gende genlerde ablative genden genlerden genitive genin genlerin Possessive forms nominative singular plural 1st singular genim genlerim 2nd singular genin genlerin 3rd singular geni genleri 1st plural genimiz genlerimiz 2nd plural geniniz genleriniz 3rd plural genleri genleri definite accusative singular plural 1st singular genimi genlerimi 2nd singular genini genlerini 3rd singular genini genlerini 1st plural genimizi genlerimizi 2nd plural geninizi genlerinizi 3rd plural genlerini genlerini dative singular plural 1st singular genime genlerime 2nd singular genine genlerine 3rd singular genine genlerine 1st plural genimize genlerimize 2nd plural geninize genlerinize 3rd plural genlerine genlerine locative singular plural 1st singular genimde genlerimde 2nd singular geninde genlerinde 3rd singular geninde genlerinde 1st plural genimizde genlerimizde 2nd plural geninizde genlerinizde 3rd plural genlerinde genlerinde ablative singular plural 1st singular genimden genlerimden 2nd singular geninden genlerinden 3rd singular geninden genlerinden 1st plural genimizden genlerimizden 2nd plural geninizden genlerinizden 3rd plural genlerinden genlerinden genitive singular plural 1st singular genimin genlerimin 2nd singular geninin genlerinin 3rd singular geninin genlerinin 1st plural genimizin genlerimizin 2nd plural geninizin genlerinizin 3rd plural genlerinin genlerinin

Vietnamese

Etymology 1

Borrowed from French gène.

Alternative forms

• gien

Pronunciation

• (Hà Nội) IPA^(key): [zɛn˧˧], [ɣɛn˧˧]
• (Huế) IPA^(key): [jɛŋ˧˧], [ɣɛŋ˧˧]
• (Saigon) IPA^(key): [jɛŋ˧˧], [ɣɛŋ˧˧]
• Phonetic spelling: gien, ghen

Noun

gen

1. gene

Usage notes

• This is one of the rare cases in which a word's pronunciation differs from its spelling.

Derived terms

• biểu hiện gen

Etymology 2

Borrowed from English gen, or English gen AI.

Pronunciation

• (Hà Nội) IPA^(key): [zɛn˧˧]
• (Huế) IPA^(key): [jɛŋ˧˧]
• (Saigon) IPA^(key): [jɛŋ˧˧]
• Phonetic spelling: gien

Verb

gen

1. (neologism) to generate something using a generative AI

Vurës

Etymology

From Proto-Torres-Banks *ɣani, from Proto-Oceanic *kani, from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *kaən, from Proto-Austronesian *kaən. Cognate with Māori kai, Malay makan.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɣɛn/

Verb

gen

1. to eat (foods other than meat)

Derived terms

• gengen

References

• Malau, Catriona (2021), “gen”, in A Dictionary of Vurës, Vanuatu, Canberra: Australian National University Press, →ISBN, page 75

Welsh

Alternative forms

• gennyf, gin

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɡɛn/

Pronoun

gen

1. (colloquial) first/second-person singular of gan

Zhuang

Etymology

From Proto-Tai *qeːnᴬ (“arm”). Cognate with Thai แขน (kɛ̌ɛn), Northern Thai ᨡᩯ᩠ᨶ, Lao ແຂນ (khǣn), Lü ᦶᦃᧃ (ẋaen), Tai Dam ꪵꪄꪙ, Shan ၶႅၼ် (khěn).

Pronunciation

• (Standard Zhuang) IPA^(key): /keːn˨˦/
• Tone numbers: gen¹
• Hyphenation: gen

Noun

gen (1957–1982 spelling gen)

1. (anatomy) arm

Zou

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ɡěːn]
• Hyphenation: gen

Verb

ge̋n (stem II [please provide])

1. (transitive) to say
2. (transitive) to tell

References

• Philip Thangliènmâng (2010), Minimal dictionary and Self-tutor Functional Grammar in Zo-English-Hindi, New Delhi: Zoculsin, →ISBN, page 82
• Lukram Himmat Singh (2013), A Descriptive Grammar of Zou (PhD thesis), Canchipur: Manipur University, page 41