genus

Where does the word "genus" come from? It comes from Latin genus, and was adopted directly into English (1600s).

Genus’s story begins in Latin: genus meant “birth, race, kind.” Birth, race, kind, from the same root as gene and genesis. It reached English by 1600s as genus. Linnaeus's two-part naming system (1753) uses genus plus species. Today, genus means a taxonomic classification of organisms, ranking above species.

1. Stage 1 · Latin · ancient genus "birth, race, kind", birth, race, kind, from the same root as gene and genesis.
2. Stage 2 · English · 1600s genus "a taxonomic group above species and below family", Linnaeus's two-part naming system (1753) uses genus plus species.