Etymograph

English

pseudogenus

From pseudo- + genus.

Formed from pseudo- + genus

Ancient Greek ψεύδω ‘to lie’

Ancient Greek ψευδής ‘false, lying’

English pseudo-

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

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

Proto-Italic *genos

Latin genus ‘birth, origin, a race, sort, kind’

English genus

Today it means

noun A spurious genus based on apparent similarities in unrelated organisms.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “pseudogenus”. 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 / pseudogenus

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