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Genus

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Genus
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ge⋅nus

  [jee-nuhs]
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–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.
Origin:
1545–55; < L: race, stock, kind, gender; c. Gk génos. See gens, gender 1 , kin
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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Genus
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ge·nus   (jē'nəs)   
n.   pl. gen·er·a (jěn'ər-ə)

  1. Biology A taxonomic category ranking below a family and above a species and generally consisting of a group of species exhibiting similar characteristics. In taxonomic nomenclature the genus name is used, either alone or followed by a Latin adjective or epithet, to form the name of a species. See Table at taxonomy.

  2. Logic A class of objects divided into subordinate species having certain common attributes.

  3. A class, group, or kind with common attributes.


[Latin, kind; see genə- in Indo-European roots.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Cultural Dictionary

genus [(jee-nuhs)]

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.)

The American Heritage® New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

genus 
(pl. genera), 1551 as a term of logic (biological sense dates from 1608), from L. genus (gen. generis) "race, stock, kind," cognate with Gk. genos "race, kind," and gonos "birth, offspring, stock," from PIE base *gen-/*gon-/*gn- "produce, beget, be born" (cf. Skt. janati "begets, bears," janah "race," jatah "born;" Avestan zizanenti "they bear;" Gk. gignesthai "to become, happen;" L. gignere "to beget," gnasci "to be born," genius "procreative divinity, inborn tutelary spirit, innate quality," ingenium "inborn character," germen "shoot, bud, embryo, germ;" Lith. gentis "kinsmen;" Goth. kuni "race;" O.E. cennan "beget, create;" O.H.G. kind "child;" O.Ir. ro-genar "I was born;" Welsh geni "to be born").
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Medical Dictionary

Main Entry: ge·nus
Pronunciation: 'jE-n&s, 'jen-&s
Function: noun
Inflected Form: plural gen·era /'jen-&-r&/
: a class, kind, or group marked by common characteristics or by one common characteristic; specifically : a category of biological classification ranking between thefamily and the species, comprising structurally or phylogenetically related species or an isolated species exhibiting unusual differentiation, and being designated by a Latin or latinized capitalizedsingular noun
Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary, © 2002 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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Medical Dictionary

genus ge·nus (jē'nəs)
n. pl. gen·er·a (jěn'ər-ə)
A taxonomic category ranking below a family and above a species and generally consisting of a group of species exhibiting similar characteristics.

The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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Science Dictionary
genus   (jē'nəs)  Pronunciation Key 
Plural genera (jěn'ər-ə)
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." See Table at taxonomy.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary
Copyright © 2002. Published by Houghton Mifflin. All rights reserved.
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