Word of the Day: January 4, 2023
genius
天才；天赋；天才人物；天资
noun /JEEN-yus/ [ˈdʒiniəs]
What It Means
A genius is a person who is exceptionally smart or talented. Genius also refers to great natural ability, or to a part of something that makes it unusually good or valuable.
A genius 指特别聪明的、才华横溢的人。 它也指强大的自然力量，或使优秀或有价值的一部分。
GENIUS in Context
“Jena at its peak might have boasted a higher concentration of genius than Renaissance Florence or ancient Athens.” — Adam Kirsch, The New Republic, 21 Oct. 2022
“处于鼎盛时期的耶拿可能比文艺复兴时期的佛罗伦萨或古雅典拥有更多的天才。”
She's a genius at riddles.
她是个谜语天才。
Did You Know?
Today, the word genius tends to carry cerebral connotations, rather than spiritual ones, but the word has its origin in ancient Roman religion, in which the genius (from Latin gignere, “to beget”) was originally a spirit who gave continuity to a family or clan over generations, and later the attendant spirit of a person or place. When genius first made its home in the English language in the 14th century it carried this “attendant spirit” meaning. Over time, the word developed the extended sense of “an identifying character or spirit,” a meaning inspired by the fact that part of a genius’s role was to protect a person’s moral character. Later genius came to refer to both remarkable talent or intelligence, and to someone who has such—genius developments, if you ask us.
今天，genius 往往指的是头脑上的，而不是精神上的，它起源于古罗马宗教，其中geniuns（来自拉丁语 gignere，“to beget「产生」”）起是指精神上的，它存有一个代代相传的大家庭，之后又演变成（某个人或地方的）随从精神。 当 genius 在 14 世纪首次使用时，表“attendant spirit「服务精神」”的意思。 随着时间的推移，这个词又产生了“ an identifying character or spirit「一类个性或一种精神」”的含义，即一部分有天赋特质的人。 后来指非凡的才能或智慧，即拥有这种天赋的人。
Test Your Vocabulary
Fill in the blanks to complete a 2-word term that refers to natural wit or intelligence: m _ t _ _ r wit.
mother wit
