sui generis

adjective

sui ge·​ner·​is ˌsü-ˌī-ˈje-nə-rəs How to pronounce sui generis (audio) ˌsü-ē-ˈje- How to pronounce sui generis (audio)
-ˈge-
: constituting a class alone : unique, peculiar

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English contains many terms that ultimately trace back to the Latin forms gener- or "genus" (which are variously translated as "birth," "race," "kind," and "class"). Offspring of those roots include "general," "generate," "generous," "generic," "degenerate," and "gender." But "sui generis" is truly a one-of-a-kind "gener-" descendant that English speakers have used for singular things since the late 1600s. Its earliest uses were in scientific contexts, where it identified substances, principles, diseases, and even rocks that were unique or that seemed to be the only representative of their class or group. By the early 1900s, however, "sui generis" had expanded beyond solely scientific contexts, and it is now used more generally for anything that stands alone.

Examples of sui generis in a Sentence

among history's greats Leonardo da Vinci is often considered sui generis—a man of such stupendous genius that the world may never see his like again
Recent Examples on the Web The fact that a number of incredible, sui generis films that our inner cynic assumed would be overlooked by the Academy actually made the cut still gives us goosebumps. David Fear, Rolling Stone, 4 Mar. 2024 It’s been nearly two decades since voters elected a Republican governor, the sui generis Arnold Schwarzenegger. Mark Z. Barabak, The Mercury News, 3 Mar. 2024 Our next task was to show an army beginning to mass behind Roaring Kitty — a sui generis populist movement taking shape on Reddit, TikTok and other social media. Lauren Schuker Blum, Los Angeles Times, 13 Dec. 2023 But both now believe that–excluding Tesla, which manufactures in China and is sui generis–U.S. and European car makers will eventually lose the EV race to their Chinese competition. Alan Murray, Fortune, 8 Dec. 2023 Dame Edna, as she became known from the early 1970s, was the inspired alter-ego of the sui generis performer Barry Humphries, who died on Saturday in Sydney, Australia. Ben Brantley, New York Times, 24 Apr. 2023 These films are anarchic, sui generis novelties with a unique vision and a will to push technological boundaries. Calum Marsh, Vulture, 26 Sep. 2023 Given the disastrous results of his gambit in Ukraine, as well as his sui generis nature, many confidently predict that whoever follows him will inevitably exhibit less rabid nationalism. Jade McGlynn and Kirill Shamiev, Foreign Affairs, 17 Aug. 2023 Elling’s singing and hipster patois playfulness between songs and Hunter’s sui generis guitar-playing (which supplanted any need for a bassist) held everything together. Bill Beuttler, BostonGlobe.com, 6 Aug. 2023

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'sui generis.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Latin, of its own kind

First Known Use

1615, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of sui generis was in 1615

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Cite this Entry

“Sui generis.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/sui%20generis. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Legal Definition

sui generis

adjective
: constituting a class alone : unique or particular to itself
the lawyer's…ad that makes no distinction among various legal and factual nuances in each sui generis case has the potential to misleadNational Law Journal
Etymology

Latin, of its own kind

More from Merriam-Webster on sui generis

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