genesta

Latin

Alternative forms

• genista

Etymology

A loan of unclear origin. Possibly from Proto-Indo-European *gʷₑnestā, compared with Ancient Greek βάτος (bátos, “bramble”), though Beekes derives the latter from a Mediterranean loan (likely a substrate language).

Pronunciation

• (Classical Latin) IPA^(key): [ɡɛˈnɛs.ta]
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): [d͡ʒeˈnɛs.ta]

Noun

genesta f (genitive genestae); first declension

1. broom (plant)

Declension

First-declension noun.

	singular	plural
nominative	genesta	genestae
genitive	genestae	genestārum
dative	genestae	genestīs
accusative	genestam	genestās
ablative	genestā	genestīs
vocative	genesta	genestae

Descendants

• Italo-Romance:
  • Corsican: ghjinestra
  • Italian: ginestra
    • → Albanian: gjineshtër, gjeshtër
    • → Sicilian: ginestra
  • Neapolitan: jenesta
  • Sicilian: jilestra, gilestra
  • Venetan: xanèstra
• Gallo-Italic:
  • Emilian: znèstra, zinèstra
  • Ligurian: zenèstra
  • Lombard: xenestra, xinesta, xinessa
  • Piedmontese: ginèster, zënèstra, zinèstra, znèsta, znèstra
  • Romagnol: zinèstra
• Gallo-Romance:
  • Northern:
    • Franco-Provençal: genèta
    • Old French: geneste, genest
      • French: genêt
      • Walloon: djiniesse
      • → Middle Dutch: genst
        • Dutch: ginst
      • ⇒ Old French: plante genest (“broom blossom”)
        • → English: Plantagenet
  • Southern:
    • Catalan: ginesta, genesta, ginestra
    • Occitan: ginèsta, genèsta
      • Gascon: gèsta, nhèsta, anhèsta
• Ibero-Romance:
  • Aragonese: chinestra, chinesta
  • Asturian: xinesta, xenesta, xiniesta, xiniestra, siñesta, señesta, siñestra, xinestra
  • Leonese: xiniesta, xinesta, xiniestra
  • Mozarabic:
    • → Spanish: giniestra (Andalusian)
  • Old Galician-Portuguese: geesta
    • Galician: xesta, xiesta, xiensta
    • Portuguese: gesta, giesta
  • Old Spanish: hiniesta, hiniestra
• Borrowings:
  • → English: genista
  • → Old High German: genestra
    • German: Ginster
      • → Swedish: ginst
  • → Spanish: genista

References

• “genesta”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• “genesta”, in Charlton T. Lewis (1891), An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
• “genesta”, in Gaffiot, Félix (1934), Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette, page 708.
• genesta in Georges, Karl Ernst; Georges, Heinrich (1913–1918), Ausführliches lateinisch-deutsches Handwörterbuch, 8th edition, volume 1, Hahnsche Buchhandlung, columns 2915–2916
• Linguistic Society of America (1966): Language Monographs, p. 77