"What's the plural of genus?"
The plural of genus is genera or genuses.
Definition of genus:
A type, kind or class identified by a common characteristic. Often used in biology to refer to a classification of organisms.
Genus or Genera?
The plural form of the word "genus" is "genera." This is the most commonly used and accepted plural form of the word.
"Genuses" is a rare variant spelling of the plural form of "genus," and it is not as widely used or accepted as "genera." While it may be listed as an alternate spelling in some dictionaries, it is not considered to be the correct form.
The word "genus" is a Latin word that refers to a category of things or a class of objects that share common characteristics. It is the singular form of the word, and it is used to refer to a single type or category within a larger classification system.
The plural form of the word "genus" is "genera," which is also derived from Latin. The plural form is used to refer to multiple types or categories within a classification system.
The word "genus" comes from the Latin word "genus," which means "birth, descent, race, or kind."
In general, the plural form of a word is usually formed by adding -s to the singular form. However, there are many exceptions to this rule, and the plural of some words is formed in a different way. In the case of "genus," the correct plural form is "genera," not "genuses."
The graph below shows the usage of the words genera vs. genuses in written English since 1900. As you can see, the use of the word genuses in written English is actually quite rare as the word genera is preferred.
Plural of Genus Example Sentences
Here are some examples to illustrate the use of the singular and plural forms of the word "genus":
Singular: "The genus Felis includes domestic cats, lions, and tigers."
Plural: "The genera Felis and Canis include several species of cats and dogs, respectively."
In the first example, "genus" is used in the singular form to refer to a single category or class within a larger classification system. In the second example, "genera" is used in the plural form to refer to multiple categories or classes within a classification system.
Here is another example:
"The genus Homo includes the species Homo sapiens, which is the scientific name for modern humans."
In this example, "genus" is used in the singular form to refer to a category or class within a classification system that includes the species Homo sapiens.
Singular Example: The Drosophila genus of fly is the collective of flies known more commonly as 'fruit flies'.
Plural Example: The elephant family includes two genera of elephant: Loxodonta and Elephas, more commonly known as African and Asian elephants respectively.
Genera vs. genuses
The graph shows the occurances of the plural of genus in written English since 1800 using Google's Ngram Viewer.
Fun Fact:
There are currently around 5,500 species of mammal, grouped into roughly 1,200 genera. Although this may sound high the number of insect species in comparison is around five million!
Sources:
https://seaworld.org/animals/all-about/elephants/classification/
https://www.dictionary.com/browse/genus
https://www.thoughtco.com/facts-about-mammals-everyone-should-know-4065168
