gen·u·ine
Audio Help [jen-yoo-in] Pronunciation Key
—Related forms
Audio Help [jen-yoo-in] Pronunciation Key –adjective
| 1. | possessing the claimed or attributed character, quality, or origin; not counterfeit; authentic; real: genuine sympathy; a genuine antique. |
| 2. | properly so called: a genuine case of smallpox. |
| 3. | free from pretense, affectation, or hypocrisy; sincere: a genuine person. |
| 4. | descended from the original stock; pure in breed: a genuine Celtic people. |
[Origin: 1590–1600; < L genuīnus innate, natural = genu-, as in ingenuus native (see ingenuous) + -īnus -ine1
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] —Related forms
gen·u·ine·ly, adverb
gen·u·ine·ness, noun
—Pronunciation note Two pronunciations of genuine occur, with a sharp social contrast between them. The usual educated pronunciation is
Audio Help [jen-yoo-in] Pronunciation Key, with the final syllable unstressed. Among some less educated speakers, especially older ones, genuine is commonly pronounced as
Audio Help [jen-yoo-ahyn], with a secondary stress on the final syllable, which has the vowel of sign. The latter pronunciation is sometimes used deliberately by educated speakers, as for emphasis or humorous effect.
Audio Help [jen-yoo-in] Pronunciation Key, with the final syllable unstressed. Among some less educated speakers, especially older ones, genuine is commonly pronounced as
Audio Help [jen-yoo-ahyn], with a secondary stress on the final syllable, which has the vowel of sign. The latter pronunciation is sometimes used deliberately by educated speakers, as for emphasis or humorous effect.| Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006. |
genuine
To learn more about genuine visit Britannica.com
| © 2008 Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. |
| gen·u·ine
Audio Help (jěn'yōō-ĭn) Pronunciation Key
adj.
[Latin genuīnus, natural, possibly from alteration of ingenuus, native, freeborn; see ingenuous.] gen'u·ine·ly adv., gen'u·ine·ness n. |
| The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. |
genuine
1596, from L. genuinus "native, natural," from root of gignere "beget" (see genus), perhaps infl. in form by contrasting adulterinus "spurious." Alternative etymology is from L. genu "knee," from an ancient custom of a father acknowledging paternity of a newborn by placing it on his knee.
| Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper |
| genuine | |
adjective | |
| 1. | not fake or counterfeit; "a genuine Picasso"; "genuine leather" [ant: counterfeit] |
| 2. | not pretended; sincerely felt or expressed; "genuine emotion"; "her interest in people was unfeigned"; "true grief" |
| 3. | being or reflecting the essential or genuine character of something; "her actual motive"; "a literal solitude like a desert"- G.K.Chesterton; "a genuine dilemma" [syn: actual] |
| WordNet® 3.0, © 2006 by Princeton University. |
genuine1 [ˈdʒenjuin] adjective
real; not fake or artificial
Example: a genuine pearl; a genuine antique
genuine2 [ˈdʒenjuin] adjectiveExample: a genuine pearl; a genuine antique
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honest; sincere
Example: He shows a genuine desire to improve.
See also: genuinelyExample: He shows a genuine desire to improve.
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| Kernerman English Multilingual Dictionary, © 2000-2006 K Dictionaries Ltd. |
Genuine
Au*then"tic\, a. [OE. autentik, OF. autentique, F. authentique, L. authenticus coming from the real author, of original or firsthand authority, from Gr. ?, fr. ? suicide, a perpetrator or real author of any act, an absolute master; a'yto`s self + a form "enths (not found), akin to L. sons and perh. orig. from the p. pr. of e'i^nai to be, root as, and meaning the one it really is. See Am, Sin, n., and cf. Effendi.]1. Having a genuine original or authority, in opposition to that which is false, fictitious, counterfeit, or apocryphal; being what it purports to be; genuine; not of doubtful origin; real; as, an authentic paper or register. To be avenged On him who had stole Jove's authentic fire. --Milton. 2. Authoritative. [Obs.] --Milton. 3. Of approved authority; true; trustworthy; credible; as, an authentic writer; an authentic portrait; authentic information. 4. (Law) Vested with all due formalities, and legally attested. 5. (Mus.) Having as immediate relation to the tonic, in distinction from plagal, which has a correspondent relation to the dominant in the octave below the tonic. Syn: Authentic, Genuine. Usage: These words, as here compared, have reference to historical documents. We call a document genuine when it can be traced back ultimately to the author or authors from whom it professes to emanate. Hence, the word has the meaning, "not changed from the original, uncorrupted, unadulterated:" as, a genuine text. We call a document authentic when, on the ground of its being thus traced back, it may be relied on as true and authoritative (from the primary sense of "having an author, vouched for"); hence its extended signification, in general literature, of trustworthy, as resting on unquestionable authority or evidence; as, an authentic history; an authentic report of facts. A genuine book is that which was written by the person whose name it bears, as the author of it. An authentic book is that which relates matters of fact as they really happened. A book may be genuine without being, authentic, and a book may be authentic without being genuine. --Bp. Watson. Note: It may be said, however, that some writers use authentic (as, an authentic document) in the sense of "produced by its professed author, not counterfeit."| Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc. |
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