genus English · revision 39913

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=1551, T. Wilson, Rule of Reason|origins=ine-pro *gene-}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * /ˈdʒiːnəs/, /ˈdʒɛnəs/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[bor|la|genus|t=birth, descent, origin, race, stock, kind]], also "gender".^(OED 2026)^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(Klein 1966)^(Dictionary.com 2016)^(ODE 2010) The Latin noun is cognate with [[grc|γένος|tr=génos|t=race, kind]] and [[m|grc|γόνος|tr=gónos|t=birth, offspring]],^(Barnhart 1988)^(Weekley 1921)^(OED 2026) and with English [[kin]];^(Barnhart 1988)^(Hoad 1986)^(Weekley 1921) it is formed from [[ine-pro|*gene-|t=to give birth, beget]].^(Etymonline)^(AHD 2024)^(Klein 1966) Weekley notes that ''genus'' and [[species]] were adopted in Latin to render the Greek ''génos'' and [[m|grc|εἶδος|tr=eîdos]] as Aristotle used them.^(Weekley 1921)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ In logic, a class or kind of things that includes several subordinate kinds, called species: 1551, in Thomas Wilson's ''Rule of Reason''.^(OED 2026)^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(MWU 2024)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The biological sense, a group of related species, is recorded from 1608, in Edward Topsell's ''Historie of Serpents'';^(OED 2026)^(Barnhart 1988) Etymonline dates it to about 1600.^(Etymonline) Johnson (1755) explained ''genus'' as a class of beings containing many species, giving ''quadruped'' as an example.^(Johnson 1755) From 1649 the word was also used of any kind or class, often with a glance at the biological sense.^(OED 2026) In other sciences it was similarly used from 1666 to 1830,^(OED 2026) and in music since 1763 for each of the three scales of ancient Greek music.^(OED 2026) Swift (1720) quoted Horace's ''genus irritabile vatum'', the touchy race of poets.^(OED 2026)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1551 – (logic) a class containing several species.^(OED 2026)^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1608 – (biology) a group of related species.^(OED 2026)^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1649 – any kind or class.^(OED 2026)

+ * 1720 – ''genus irritabile'', the irritable race of poets.^(OED 2026)

+ * 1763 – (music) a scale of ancient Greek music.^(OED 2026)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # ([[biology]]) A rank in the [[classification]] of living things, below a [[family]] and above a [[species]], or a group at this rank: ''The lion and the tiger belong to the same genus.''^(Collins 2023)^(MWU 2024)

+ # ([[logic]]) A class of things that can be divided into two or more subordinate classes, or species.^(Collins 2023)^(OED 2026)

+ # A class, kind or group with common characteristics.^(Collins 2023)^(MWU 2024)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[pseudogenus]]

+ * [[form genus]]

+ * [[type genus]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[general]]

+ * [[generic]]

+ * [[generate]]

+ * [[generation]]

+ * [[gender]]

+ * [[genocide]]

+ * [[genre]]

+ * [[gens]]

+ * [[kin]]

+ * [[species]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ The plural is ''genera'',^(Collins 2023)^(SOED 2002) and ''genuses'' is also found.^(Collins 2023)^(SOED 2002)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}