Etymograph

English

dysgenic

Dysgenic comes from Ancient Greek γένος ‘offspring’, from Proto-Hellenic *génos ‘race’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *ǵenh₁- ‘to produce’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ǵenh₁-1‘to produce’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ǵénh₁os2‘race, lineage’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Hellenicc. 2200–1600 BCE*génos3‘race’reconstructed
  4. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEγένος4génos‘offspring’
  5. Englishearliest quotation 2018dysgenic4

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Proto-Indo-European *ǵénh₁os
  2. 2 Wiktionary, Proto-Hellenic *génos
  3. 3 Wiktionary, Ancient Greek γένος
  4. 4 Wiktionary, English dysgenic
  5. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 2018, Rory Smith, IQ scores are falling and have been for decades, new study f: “The study not only showed IQ variance between children…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ǵenh₁-Wiktionary, Proto-Indo-European *ǵénh₁os‘to produce’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ǵénh₁osWiktionary, Proto-Hellenic *génos‘race, lineage’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Hellenicc. 2200–1600 BCE*génosWiktionary, Ancient Greek γένος‘race’reconstructed
  4. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEγένοςWiktionary, English dysgenicgénos‘offspring’
  5. Englishearliest quotation 2018dysgenicWiktionary, English dysgenic. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 2018, Rory Smith, IQ scores are falling and have been for decades, new study f: “The study not only showed IQ variance between children…”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *ǵenh₁- ‘to produce’

kind, king, nature, nation, german, native, engine, pregnant, genuine, ken, generate, indigenous, generous, genetic, gentle, naive, genius, kin, noel, generic, transgender, genesis, innate, natal, regeneration, generosity, nee, nativity, nada, genealogy, janata, germ, genital, nascent, ingenious, degeneration, puny, gentile, cognate, jaunty, 98 more

through Proto-Indo-European *ǵénh₁os ‘race, lineage’

general, generation, gender, gene, genuinely, genre, genus, 28 more

through Proto-Hellenic *génos ‘race’

hydrogenation, 10 more

through Ancient Greek γένος ‘offspring’

oxygen, hydrogen, genocide, glycogen, estrogenic, 11 more

Today it means

adj Of or relating to, or causing degeneration or deterioration in offspring.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “dysgenic”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Proto-Indo-European *ǵénh₁os, Proto-Hellenic *génos, Ancient Greek γένος. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *ǵenh₁- / dysgenic

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