genii

noun

plural form of genie, genius.

plural noun

a spirit of Arabian folklore, as depicted traditionally imprisoned within a bottle or oil lamp, and capable of granting wishes when summoned.

mid 17th century (denoting a guardian or protective spirit): from French génie, from Latin genius (see genius). Génie was adopted in the current sense by the 18th-century French translators of The Arabian Nights' Entertainments, because of its resemblance in form and sense to Arabic jinnī ‘jinnee’.

1. a person regarded as exerting a powerful influence over another for good or evil.

   he sees Adams as the man's evil genius

   this young man is my good genius, my guardian angel

late Middle English: from Latin, ‘attendant spirit present from one's birth, innate ability or inclination’, from the root of gignere ‘beget’. The original sense ‘spirit attendant on a person’ gave rise to a sense ‘a person's characteristic disposition’ (late 16th century), which led to a sense ‘a person's natural ability’, and finally ‘exceptional natural ability’ (mid 17th century).