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).

Noun

genesta f (genitive genestae); first declension

1. broom (plant)

Declension

First-declension noun.

Case	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
• Gallo-Italic:
  • Emilian: znèstra, zinèstra
  • Ligurian: zenèstra
  • Lombard: xenestra, xinesta, xinessa
  • Piedmontese: ginèster, zënèstra, zinèstra, znèsta, znèstra
  • Romagnol: zinèstra
• Gallo-Romance:
  • Franco-Provençal: genèta
  • Old French: geneste, genest
    • French: genêt
    • Walloon: djiniesse
    • → Middle Dutch: genst
      • Dutch: ginst
  • ⇒ Old French: plante genest (“broom blossom”)
    • → English: Plantagenet
• Occitano-Romance:
  • Catalan: ginesta, genesta, ginestra
  • Gascon: gèsta, nhèsta, anhèsta
  • Occitan: ginèsta, genèsta
• Ibero-Romance:
  • Aragonese: chinestra, chinesta
  • Asturian: xinesta, xenesta, xiniesta, xiniestra, siñesta, señesta, siñestra, xinestra
  • Leonese: xiniesta, xinesta, xiniestra
  • Mozarabic: [Term?]
    • → 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
  • → Spanish: genista
  • → Swedish: ginst

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.
• Linguistic Society of America (1966): Language Monographs, p. 77