genesta

Latin

Alternative forms

• genista

Etymology

Found in Medieval Latin; 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.

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

• Corsican: ghjinestra
• Italian: ginestra
  • → Albanian: gjineshtër, gjeshtër
• Neapolitan: jenesta
• Old French: geneste, genest
  • French: genêt
• Old Occitan:
  • Catalan: ginesta
  • Occitan: ginèsta, genèsta
• Old Galician-Portuguese: geesta
  • Galician: xesta
  • Portuguese: gesta, giesta
• Old Spanish:
  • Spanish: hiniesta, ginesta
• Sicilian: inestra, ginestra
• → Dutch: genst
• → English: genista
• → Old High German: genestra
  • German: Ginster
• → Spanish: genista
• → Swedish: ginst
• ⇒ Old French: plante genest (“broom blossom”)
  • → English: Plantagenet

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