-gen

¹

1. a combining form meaning “that which produces,” used in the formation of compound words:

   endogen; hydrogen.

gen.

²

abbreviation for

1. gender.
2. general.
3. genitive.
4. genus.

Gen.

³

abbreviation for

1. Military. General.
2. Bible. Genesis.
3. Geneva.

Gen.

¹

abbreviation for

1. General
2. Bible Genesis

-gen

²

suffix forming nouns

1. producing or that which produces

   hydrogen

2. something produced

   carcinogen

gen

³

/ dʒɛn /

noun

1. See gen up
   informal.
   information See also gen up

   give me the gen on your latest project

Word History and Origins

Origin of -gen¹

< French -gène ≪ Greek -genēs born, produced; akin to Latin genus, kin

Word History and Origins

Origin of -gen¹

via French -gène, from Greek -genēs born

Origin of -gen²

C20: from gen ( eral information )

Example Sentences

In 1951, Harry Truman fired Gen. Douglas MacArthur during the Korean War.

From The Daily Beast

A recent propaganda video courtesy of Gen. Prayuth Chan-ocha is the latest example.

From The Daily Beast

The students were protesting the May 22 military coup that brought a junta and Gen. Prayut to power.

From The Daily Beast

So why does its fandom seem largely limited to the Gen Xers who saw the show in its first run?

From The Daily Beast

Will breakfast at Balthazar bring sudden revelations about Millennials and Gen Xers and their taste in wheels?

From The Daily Beast

He saw Gen. Braddock as he passed on to his defeat, and could give a succinct account of that sanguinary action.

From Project Gutenberg

The British had fired 143 cannon shot into the fort before the arrival of Gen. Clay.

From Project Gutenberg

Orangeburgh surrendered to the American Gen. Sumpter; prisoners taken, 82.

From Project Gutenberg

Let some feller come in here with a gen'ral store, sellin' for cash—and cuttin' prices, eh?

From Project Gutenberg

GEN. Perianthium sexpartitum, regulare, glumaceum, persistens.

From Project Gutenberg

Words That Use -gen

What does -gen mean?

The combining form –gen is used like a suffix meaning “that which produces.” It is often used in scientific and technical terms, especially in chemistry and biology.

The form –gen comes from Greek –genēs, meaning “born” or “produced.” 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 –gen?

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

Examples of -gen

An example of a word you may have encountered that features –gen is carcinogen, “any substance or agent that tends to produce a cancer.”

We know –gen means “that which produces,” and the carcino– portion of the word refers to “cancer,” from Greek karkínos. Carcinogen literally translates to “that which produces cancer.”

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

• adaptogen
• androgen
• dipsogen
• estrogen
• hydrogen (using the equivalent form of –gen in French)
• pathogen
• zymogen (using the equivalent form of –gen in German)

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

• -gamy
• -gon
• -gyny

Not every word that ends with the exact letters –gen, such as trudgen or smidgen, is necessarily using the combining form –gen to denote “that which produces.” Learn what trudgen has to do with swimming at our entry for the word.

Break it down!

The combining form hydro– means “water.” With this in mind, what does hydrogen literally mean?