genesis

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition

1. n. The coming into being of something; the origin. See Synonyms at beginning.
2. n. See Table at Bible.

Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia

1. n. The act or process of begetting, originating, or creating; generation; procreation; production; formation; creation.
2. n. Mode of generation; especially, the way in which or the means by which natural propagation is effected.
3. n. An explanation or account of the origin of something.
4. n. [capitalized] The first book of the Old Testament. It records the creation of the world, the flood and the ensuing dispersion of races, and a more detailed history of the families of the Hebrew patriarchs Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. The traditional and still widely prevalent view ascribes the authorship to Moses. Many modern scholars, however, find strong evidences of various periods of authorship, and particularly of two chief sources, the so-called Jehovistic and Elohistic. According to the latter view, the dates of composition fall chiefly within the period of the kingdoms of Judah and Israel (about the eighth century b. c.), the last redaction occurring perhaps after the return from Babylon. In Hebrew the book is designated by its first word, B′ reshith, ‘In the beginning’; the title Genesis was supplied in the early Greek translation. Abbreviated Gen. See documentary hypothesis (under documentary), Elohistic, Jehovistic.
5. n. In mathematics, same as generation, 4.

Wiktionary

1. n. The origin, start, or point at which something comes into being.

GNU Webster's 1913

1. n. The act of producing, or giving birth or origin to anything; the process or mode of originating; production; formation; origination.
2. n. The first book of the Old Testament; -- so called by the Greek translators, from its containing the history of the creation of the world and of the human race.
3. n. (Geom.) Same as Generation.

WordNet 3.0

1. n. the first book of the Old Testament: tells of Creation; Adam and Eve; the Fall of Man; Cain and Abel; Noah and the flood; God's covenant with Abraham; Abraham and Isaac; Jacob and Esau; Joseph and his brothers
2. n. a coming into being