-genous

1. a suffix of adjectives corresponding to nouns with stems in -gen: erogenous .

-genous

combining form

1. yielding or generating

   androgenous

   erogenous

2. generated by or issuing from

   endogenous

Word History and Origins

Origin of -genous¹

-gen + -ous

Word History and Origins

Origin of -genous¹

from -gen + -ous

Example Sentences

Mr Hendra is now technical director at Genous, a firm that gives advice to homeowners on how to make their properties more energy efficient.

From BBC

Pure-bred dogs, in particular, have been rendered highly genetically consistent to achieve a homo­genous appearance and behaviour.

From Nature

At a UN summit last September, a host of countries joined businesses, environmental groups and indi­genous organizations in signing the New York Declaration on Forests, which calls for a halving of deforestation by 2020 and to end it by 2030.

From Nature

Et cil de la tor qui le véoient en sont tuit esbahï, ne il n'i a nul ne nule qui saiche veroiement qui il est; mès qu'il voient qu'il traïne pardesus l'espée trenchant à la force des braz et à l'enpaignement des genouz; si ne remaint pas por les filz de fer que des piez et des mains et des genous ne saille li sanz.

From Project Gutenberg

Thus genos does not form the genitive genesos, like the Latin genus, genesis or generis, but geneos = genous.

From Project Gutenberg

Words That Use -genous

What does -genous mean?

The combining form –genous is used like a suffix meaning “of or related to that which produces.” It is often used in scientific terms, especially in biology.

The form –genous comes a combination of two combining forms, –gen and –ous. The form –gen means “that which produces,” from Greek –genēs, meaning “born” or “produced.” The form –ous is a suffix used to form adjectives, from Latin –ōsus. The Latin translation and cognate of –genēs is nātus, meaning “born,” which is the source of natal, native, and nature. Find out how these terms derive from nātus at our entry for each word.

What are variants of –genous?

While the form –genous doesn’t have any variants, it is related to the combining form –geny, as in heterogeny. The form –genous is also closely related to the combining forms –gen, –genesis, –genetic, and –genic, as in pathogen, carcinogenesis, autogenetic, and carcinogenic. Read our Words That Use articles for –gen, –genic, –geny, –genesis, and –genetic.

Examples of -genous

An example of a word you may have encountered that features –genous is erogenous, “especially sensitive to sexual stimulation, as certain areas of the body.”

The ero– part of the word here represents eros, meaning “physical love; sexual desire,” from Greek érōs, which was also the name of the Greek god of love. As we know, –genous means “of or related to that which produces.” Erogenous literally means “of or related to that which produces physical love (sexual desire).”

What are some words that use the combining form –genous?

• adenogenous
• autogenous (using the equivalent form of –genous in Greek)
• epigenous
• pyrogenous
• sporogenous
• xylogenous

What are some other forms that –genous may be commonly confused with?

• -gamous
• -gony
• -gynous

Break it down!

The combining form sporo– means “spore.” With this in mind, what does the scientific term sporogenous mean?