They might tell someone that the word's root "gen" means "birth" and the suffix "-ous" means "having the quality of something." A person originating in a particular region would have been <em>born </em>there and might <em>have the quality of </em>the place.
The author was clearly using sarcasm. i know this cause in the question it says only and compares it to a different planet, and we know planets are not a mile close
