Definition of 'genus'
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Word Frequency
genus in American English
nounWord forms: plural ˈgenera (ˈdʒɛnərə
) or ˈgenuses
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 species
name, which is italicized but not capitalized (Ex.: Homo sapiens, modern man)Webster’s New World College Dictionary, 4th Edition. Copyright © 2010 by
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. All rights reserved.
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
Word Frequency
genus in American English
(ˈdʒinəs)
nounWord forms: plural genera (ˈdʒenərə), genuses
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
Most material © 2005, 1997, 1991 by Penguin Random House LLC. Modified entries © 2019
by Penguin Random House LLC and HarperCollins Publishers Ltd
Word Frequency
genus in British English
nounWord forms: plural genera (ˈdʒɛnərə
) or genuses
1. biology
3.
a class, group, etc with common characteristics
Collins English Dictionary. Copyright © HarperCollins Publishers
Word origin
C16: from Latin: race
Examples of 'genus' in a sentence
genus
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genus
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In other languages
genus
British English: genus
NOUN /ˈdʒiːnəs/
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.
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Source
Definition of genus from the Collins English Dictionary
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