genesis

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin genesis (“generation, nativity”), from Ancient Greek γένεσις (génesis, “origin, source, beginning”). Related to Ancient Greek γίγνομαι (gígnomai, “to be produced, become, be”). Doublet of kind, gens, and jati.

noun

1. The origin, start, or point at which something comes into being.
   Some point to the creation of Magna Carta as the genesis of English common law.
   The genesis of the Chinese bronze mirror can be traced far back into the Chou dynasty. Some pieces that may possibly date from the eighth century B.C., but certainly predate the year 655 B.C., were unearthed in 1956-1957 at Shang-ts’ung-ling near San-men-hsia in western Honan Province. 1980, Helmut Brinker, Eberhard Fischer, Treasures from the Rietberg Museum, →LCCN, →OCLC, →OL, page 91