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genus - 8 dictionary results
ge⋅nus
[jee-nuh
s] 
–noun, plural gen⋅e⋅ra [jen-er-uh] , ge⋅nus⋅es.
[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. |
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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Link To genus
| ge·nus (jē'nəs) n. pl. gen·er·a (jěn'ər-ə)
[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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Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Genus
Ge"nus\ (j[=e]"n[u^]s), n.; pl. Genera. [L., birth, race, kind, sort; akin to Gr. ?. See Gender, and cf. Benign.]1. (Logic) A class of objects divided into several subordinate species; a class more extensive than a species; a precisely defined and exactly divided class; one of the five predicable conceptions, or sorts of terms. 2. (Biol.) An assemblage of species, having so many fundamental points of structure in common, that in the judgment of competent scientists, they may receive a common substantive name. A genus is not necessarily the lowest definable group of species, for it may often be divided into several subgenera. In proportion as its definition is exact, it is natural genus; if its definition can not be made clear, it is more or less an artificial genus. Note: Thus in the animal kingdom the lion, leopard, tiger, cat, and panther are species of the Cat kind or genus, while in the vegetable kingdom all the species of oak form a single genus. Some genera are represented by a multitude of species, as Solanum (Nightshade) and Carex (Sedge), others by few, and some by only one known species. Subaltern genus (Logic), a genus which may be a species of a higher genus, as the genus denoted by quadruped, which is also a species of mammal. Summum genus [L.] (Logic), the highest genus; a genus which can not be classed as a species, as being.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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Language Translation for : genus
Spanish:
género,
German:
das Genus, das Geschlecht,
Japanese:
性
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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Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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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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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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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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Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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| 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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Copyright © 2002. Published by Houghton Mifflin. All rights reserved.
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