What does genus mean?
Genus is a formal term for a group or category of related things, most famously in biology. In biological classification, a genus gathers together closely related species and sits between family and species in the taxonomic hierarchy: a family contains genera, and each genus contains species. The word can also be used more broadly for a distinctive class of people, objects, plants, animals, or ideas. In rhetoric and logic, it can identify a kind within a larger classification system. Genus comes from Latin, where it meant “kind” or “sort,” and belongs to the same broad etymological family as generic, general, generous, and generation. The word is therefore useful whenever a speaker wants to move from individual examples toward a recognized category, while its biological sense carries the additional implication of a scientifically defined group.
nounIn biology, a genus is a taxonomic category that groups closely related species and ranks above species but below family. More generally, it means a class or category of things sharing distinctive characteristics.
- A taxonomic category consisting of closely related species, ranked above species and below family.
- A broader class or category of organisms, objects, ideas, or other entities sharing distinguishing characteristics.
- In rhetoric and logic, a kind or class within a larger system of classification.
"The genus Panthera includes lions, tigers, leopards, and jaguars."
"The genus Panthera includes lions, tigers, leopards, and jaguars."
"The novel presents a familiar genus of character: the disillusioned investigator who can solve every mystery except their own."
The standard plural of genus is genera. The form genuses is also encountered in general usage but is less usual in formal biological writing.
"The two genera were distinguished by their leaf shape and flowering pattern."
From Latin for “kind,” genus is the biological rank that turns individual species into a named family of relatives.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of genus
Genus comes from Latin genus, meaning “kind,” “sort,” or “origin,” and entered English as a term for a class or category. The Latin root underlies related English words such as generic, general, generous, and generation. In biological classification, the term was gradually standardized as the rank between family and species, with names such as Panthera and Homo treated as genera.
Related word forms
How genus is actually used
The word is especially common in formal and scientific writing. In biological nomenclature, genus names are capitalized and italicized, as in Homo, while the word genus itself is normally lowercase.
Easily confused with genus
Genus is a category or taxonomic group, whereas genius is an exceptionally talented person or an intellectual capacity.