genus

[ jee-nuhs ]

noun

, plural gen·e·ra [jen, -er-, uh], ge·nus·es.

1. Biology. the usual major subdivision of a family or subfamily in the classification of organisms, usually consisting of more than one species.
2. Logic. a class or group of individuals, or of species of individuals.
3. a kind; sort; class.

genus

/ ˈdʒiːnəs /

noun

1. biology any of the taxonomic groups into which a family is divided and which contains one or more species. For example, Vulpes (foxes) is a genus of the dog family ( Canidae )
2. logic a class of objects or individuals that can be divided into two or more groups or species
3. a class, group, etc, with common characteristics
4. maths a number characterizing a closed surface in topology equal to the number of handles added to a sphere to form the surface. A sphere has genus 0, a torus, genus 1, etc

genus

/ jē′nəs /

, Plural genera jĕn′ər-ə

1. A group of organisms ranking above a species and below a family. The names of genera, like those of species, are written in italics. For example, Periplaneta is the genus of the American cockroach, and comes from the Greek for “wandering about.”
2. See Table at taxonomy

genus

1. In biology , the classification lower than a family and higher than a species . Wolves belong to the same genus as dogs. Foxes belong to a different genus from that of dogs and wolves, but to the same family. ( See Linnean classification .)

Other Words From

• pseudo·genus noun plural pseudogenera pseudogenuses

Word History and Origins

Origin of genus¹

1545–55; < Latin: race, stock, kind, gender; cognate with Greek génos. See gens, gender ¹, kin

Word History and Origins

Origin of genus¹

C16: from Latin: race

Example Sentences

The genus name uncus means “hook” in Latin, after the fishhooklike squiggles on the rock left by the fossils.

From Science Magazine

"It describes a new genus and species, but places them in the phylogeny of tardigrades," Nelson told Salon.

From Salon

An extremely abundant genus of sea sponge discovered in 2017 lives on the nodules.

From Salon

It’s much more common to find a false black widow indoors, which are from a different genus and are less toxic than black widows, Vetter said.

From Los Angeles Times

“We already knew about the existence of giant genomes in the genus but did not anticipate that the one in Tmesipteris oblanceolata was going to beat any previous records.”

From Los Angeles Times