Genus /(jē"nŭs)/

Ge·nus

Genus

n.

pl. Genera

  1. A class of objects divided into several subordinate species; a class more extensive than a species; a precisely defined and exactly divided class; one of the five predicable conceptions, or sorts of terms. (Logic)
  2. An assemblage of species, having so many fundamental points of structure in common, that in the judgment of competent scientists, they may receive a common substantive name. A genus is not necessarily the lowest definable group of species, for it may often be divided into several subgenera. In proportion as its definition is exact, it is natural genus; if its definition can not be made clear, it is more or less an artificial genus. (Biol.)

Phrases & Compounds
Subaltern genus
a genus which may be a species of a higher genus, as the genus denoted by quadruped, which is also a species of mammal.
Summum genus
the highest genus; a genus which can not be classed as a species, as being.