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genre

 - 4 dictionary results

gen⋅re

  [zhahn-ruh; Fr. zhahn-ruh ] noun, plural -res  [-ruhz; Fr. -ruh ] , adjective
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–noun
1. a class or category of artistic endeavor having a particular form, content, technique, or the like: the genre of epic poetry; the genre of symphonic music.
2. Fine Arts.
a. paintings in which scenes of everyday life form the subject matter.
b. a realistic style of painting using such subject matter.
3. genus; kind; sort; style.
–adjective
4. Fine Arts. of or pertaining to genre.
5. of or pertaining to a distinctive literary type.
Origin:
1760–70; < F: kind, sort; see gender 1
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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gen·re   (zhän'rə)   
n.  

  1. A type or class: "Emaciated famine victims ... on television focused a new genre of attention on the continent" (Helen Kitchen).

    1. A category of artistic composition, as in music or literature, marked by a distinctive style, form, or content: "his six String Quartets ... the most important works in the genre since Beethoven's" (Time).

    2. A realistic style of painting that depicts scenes from everyday life.


[French, from Old French, kind, from Latin genus, gener-; 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

genre [(zhahn-ruh)]

The kind or type of a work of art, from the French, meaning “kind” or “genus.” Literary genres include the novel and the sonnet. Musical genres include the concerto and the symphony. Film genres include Westerns and horror movies.

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

genre 
1770, from Fr. genre "kind, sort, style," from O.Fr. (see gender). Used especially in Fr. for "independent style," as compared to "landscape, historical," etc.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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