genesta

Latin

Alternative forms

genista

Etymology

A loan of unclear origin. Possibly from Proto-Indo-European *gʷₑnestā, compared with Ancient Greek βάτος (bátos, “bramble”), though Beekes derives the latter from a Mediterranean loan (likely a substrate language).

Pronunciation

(Classical Latin) IPA^(key): [ɡɛˈnɛs.ta]
(modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): [d͡ʒeˈnɛs.t̪a]

Noun

genesta f (genitive genestae); first declension

broom (plant)

Declension

First-declension noun.

	singular	plural
nominative	genesta	genestae
genitive	genestae	genestārum
dative	genestae	genestīs
accusative	genestam	genestās
ablative	genestā	genestīs
vocative	genesta	genestae

Descendants

Italo-Romance:
- Corsican: ghjinestra
- Italian: ginestra
  - → Albanian: gjineshtër, gjeshtër
  - → Sicilian: ginestra
- Neapolitan: jenesta
- Sicilian: jilestra, gilestra
Gallo-Italic:
- Emilian: znèstra, zinèstra
- Ligurian: zenèstra
- Lombard: xenestra, xinesta, xinessa
- Piedmontese: ginèster, zënèstra, zinèstra, znèsta, znèstra
- Romagnol: zinèstra
Gallo-Romance:
- Northern:
  - Franco-Provençal: genèta
  - Old French: geneste, genest
    - French: genêt
    - Walloon: djiniesse
    - → Middle Dutch: genst
      - Dutch: ginst
    - ⇒ Old French: plante genest (“broom blossom”)
      - → English: Plantagenet
- Southern:
  - Catalan: ginesta, genesta, ginestra
  - Occitan: ginèsta, genèsta
    - Gascon: gèsta, nhèsta, anhèsta
Ibero-Romance:
- Aragonese: chinestra, chinesta
- Asturian: xinesta, xenesta, xiniesta, xiniestra, siñesta, señesta, siñestra, xinestra
- Leonese: xiniesta, xinesta, xiniestra
- Mozarabic:
  - → Spanish: giniestra (Andalusian)
- Old Galician-Portuguese: geesta
  - Galician: xesta, xiesta, xiensta
  - Portuguese: gesta, giesta
- Old Spanish: hiniesta, hiniestra
Borrowings:
- → English: genista
- → Old High German: genestra
  - German: Ginster
- → Spanish: genista
- → Swedish: ginst

References

“genesta”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
“genesta”, in Charlton T. Lewis (1891) An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
genesta in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette, page 708/1.
genesta in Georges, Karl Ernst, Georges, Heinrich (1913–1918) Ausführliches lateinisch-deutsches Handwörterbuch, 8th edition, volume 1, Hahnsche Buchhandlung, columns 2915–2916
Linguistic Society of America (1966): Language Monographs, p. 77