guy

Pronounced: guy (well, duh!), noun/verb

Notes: There is more depth to the word than you might think, and I confess to a disappointment

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Yesterday’s word

The word genial means

• favorable to growth or comfort; mild
• marked by or diffusing sympathy or friendliness
• displaying or marked by genius

First usage

Our word came into English in the mid-1500s

Background / Comments

I am most familiar with the second meaning describing someone as friendly. But I also have read it used in the first sense as in “genial surroundings”. The third meaning is completely new to me. Our word has an interesting history; it came from the Latin adjective genialis (connected with marriage), and when our word first appeared in English it meant “of or relating to marriage” (now obsolete). The Latin adjective genialis comes from the Latin noun genius (a person’s disposition or inclination) and the suffix -alis (of, relating to, or characterized by). Our word “genius” comes from the Latin noun, and it is thought that this kinship gave rise to the third definition above… possibly also influenced by the German language; in German genial means “genius”.