genus

genus (ˈdʒiːnəs)

—n , pl genera, genuses
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

[C16: from Latin: race]

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
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Etymonline

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, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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American Heritage

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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American Heritage

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.

American Heritage

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.)

Example sentences

Its white-tipped tail is unique among all the mice in the area and may suggest

the species belongs to an entirely new genus.

The wasp, in the genus Trissolcus, may be able to nip the stink bug explosion

in the bud by preying on stink bug eggs.

He loves to classify: genus, species, subspecies.

Later, they were moved to the genus Pelargonium.

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Matching Quote

"Genius detects through the fly, through the caterpillar, through the grub, through the egg, the constant individual; through countless individuals the fixed species; through many species the genus; through all genera the steadfast type; through all the kingdoms of organized life the eternal unity. Nature is a mutable cloud which is always and never the same."

-Ralph Waldo Emerson