see *geonim

(pl., geonim;)(lit., "magnificent"): a Torah genius; especially, the head of one of the Babylonian Talmudic academies that illuminated the period which the world calls the "Dark Ages"

Genius; Excellence; Eminence A title of sages who lived during the post-Talmudic period (7th to 11th [6th - 12th] centuries)..and is known as the "Gaonic period"

("genius" or "excellency): Gaon is the title of the sages who lived during the post-Talmudic period (roughly 7th to 11th centuries). This period is thus known as the " Gaonic" period.