genesis

The word genesis entered English in the late Old English period, borrowed directly from Latin genesis, which itself was taken from Greek génesis, meaning 'origin', 'creation', or 'source'. The Greek term is built from the root gen- (to be born, to come into being), which traces back to the Proto-Indo-European root ǵenh₁-, meaning 'to produce, to beget'. The suffix -sis denotes an action, process, or resulting state. Thus, the literal construction means "the process of coming into being." While famously the title of the first book of the Bible describing creation, its modern abstract usage extends to signify the origin or formative stage of any concept, movement, or phenomenon.

Structure: gene (birth, origin) + sis (state, action) - gene: From Greek gen-, meaning 'birth', 'origin', 'race'. It functions as the core root conveying the concept of coming into being. - sis: From Greek -sis, a suffix forming nouns of action or process. It functions to nominalize the state or action of the root.