[ge.nus] n, pl gen.era [L gener-, genus birth, race, kind--more at kin] (1551) 1: a class, kind, or group marked by common characteristics or by one common characteristic; specif: a category of biological classification ranking between the family and the species, comprising structurally or phylogenetically related species or an isolated species exhibiting unusual differentiation, and being designated by a Latin or latinized capitalized singular noun
2: a class of objects divided into several subordinate species