Advertisement

Advertisement

View synonyms for genus

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

/ nəs /

, Plural genera jĕnər-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 .)


Discover More

Other Words From

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

Discover More

Word History and Origins

Origin of genus1

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

Discover More

Word History and Origins

Origin of genus1

C16: from Latin: race

Advertisement

Advertisement

Advertisement

Advertisement