Word of the Day

: October 17, 2008

genius

noun JEEN-yus

What It Means

1 : a single strongly marked capacity or aptitude

2 : extraordinary intellectual power especially as manifested in creative activity

3 : a person endowed with transcendent mental superiority; especially : a person with a very high IQ

genius in Context

Those children have a genius for getting into trouble!

Did You Know?

The belief system of the ancient Romans included spirits that were somewhere in between gods and humans and were thought to accompany each person through life as a protector. The Latin name for this spirit was "genius," which came from the verb "gignere," meaning "to beget." This sense of "attendant spirit" was first borrowed into English in the early 16th century. Part of such a spirit's role was to protect a person's moral character, and from that idea an extended sense developed in the 16th century meaning "an identifying character." In time, that meaning was extended to cover a special ability for doing something, and eventually "genius" acquired senses referring particularly to "very great intelligence" and "people of great intelligence."