A genus is a class of similar things, especially a group of animals or plants that includes several closely related species.
[technical]
Synonyms: type, sort, kind, group More Synonyms of genus
genus in British English
(ˈdʒiːnəs)
nounWord forms: pluralgenera (ˈdʒɛnərə) or 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. mathematics
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
Word origin
C16: from Latin: race
genus in American English
(ˈdʒinəs)
nounWord forms: pluralˈgenera (ˈdʒɛnərə) or ˈgenuses
1.
a class; kind; sort
2. Biology
a major category in the classification of animals, plants, etc., ranking above a species and below a family: it can include one species or many similar species
the Latinized genus name is capitalized and italicized, and precedes the speciesname, which is italicized but not capitalized (Ex.: Homo sapiens, modern man)
3. Logic
a class of things made up of subordinate classes or species
Word origin
L, birth, origin, race, species, kind < IE base *ĝen-, to beget, produce > L gignere, to beget, gens, clan, Gr genos, race, gignesthai, to be born, Ger kind, child, OE (ge)cynd, kind, cennan, to beget; also, with loss of initial g-, L nasci, to be born, natura, nature
Examples of 'genus' in a sentence
genus
The clouded leopard is also in a different genus.
Times, Sunday Times (2009)
Any plant or genus of plants, for instance, could be your basic planting.
Page, Russell The Education of a Gardener (1994)
In other languages
genus
British English: genus NOUN
A genus is a class of similar things, especially a group of animals or plants that includes several closely related species.
...a genus of plants called Sinningia.
American English: genus
Brazilian Portuguese: gênero
Chinese: > 属尤指动植物的
European Spanish: género
French: genre
German: Gattung
Italian: genere
Japanese: > 属生物分類上の
Korean: 종류
European Portuguese: género
Latin American Spanish: género
(noun)
Definition
a class or group
all the species of a particular genus
Synonyms
type
There are various types of the disease.
sort
What sort of person is he?
kind
Lewis and his kind are the best sort of people.
group
The recipes are divided into groups according to their main ingredients.
set
the popular watering hole for the literary set
order
the order of insects Coleoptera, better known as beetles
race
We welcome students of all races, faiths and nationalities.
class
a new class of personal computer
breed
the new breed of walking holidays
category
The entries were organised into six different categories.
genre
his love of films and novels in the horror genre
classification
several different classifications of vehicles
Additional synonyms
in the sense of breed
Definition
a kind, sort, or group
the new breed of walking holidays
Synonyms
kind,
sort,
type,
variety,
order,
brand,
stamp,
genre,
calibre
in the sense of category
Definition
a class or group of things or people with some quality or qualities in common
The entries were organised into six different categories.
Synonyms
class,
grouping,
heading,
head,
order,
sort,
list,
department,
type,
division,
section,
rank,
grade,
classification,
genre
in the sense of class
Definition
one of the groups into which a phylum is divided, containing one or more orders