Genössisch

Genössisch is a German adjective meaning belonging to the present time or contemporary. It is used to describe works, phenomena, or styles that originate in the current era or in recent times, rather than in the distant past. In practice, genössisch is commonly applied in cultural fields such as art, literature, music, and architecture, with phrases like genössische Kunst (contemporary art) or genössische Literatur (contemporary literature).

The term is closely related to zeitgenössisch and gegenwärtig. Zeitgenössisch is often the more everyday or widely used synonym in contemporary discourse, while genössisch can carry a more formal, scholarly, or historical connotation in some contexts. Gegenwärtig primarily means “present” in a general sense, whereas genössisch tends to foreground a field-specific contemporary moment.

Etymology and usage notes: genössisch is formed from the concept of the present through the standard German adjective suffix -isch. The form has appeared in German critical and academic writing for centuries and remains a recognized, though somewhat more formal, alternative to zeitgenössisch.

See also: Gegenwart, Zeitgenössisch, Gegenwartskunst, Gegenwartsliteratur.