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Genus vs. Family — What's the Difference?

Difference Between Genus and Family

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Definitions

Genus

Genus (plural genera) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family.

Family

In human society, family (from Latin: familia) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of families is to maintain the well-being of its members and of society.

Genus

A principal taxonomic category that ranks above species and below family, and is denoted by a capitalized Latin name, e.g. Leo.

Family

A fundamental social group in society typically consisting of one or two parents and their children.

Genus

(Biology) A taxonomic category ranking below a family and above a species and designating a group of species that are presumed to be closely related and usually exhibit similar characteristics. In a scientific name, the genus name is capitalized and italicized, for example, Ovis for sheep and related animals.
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Family

The children of one of these groups
She raised a large family.

Genus

(Logic) A class of objects divided into subordinate species having certain common attributes.

Family

A group of persons related by descent or marriage
My whole family, including my cousins, gets together once a year. See Usage Note at collective noun.

Genus

A class, group, or kind with common attributes.

Family

People in the same line of descent; lineage
Comes from an old Virginia family.
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Genus

A category in the classification of organisms, ranking below family (Lat. familia) and above species.
All magnolias belong to the genus Magnolia.
Other species of the genus Bos are often called cattle or wild cattle.
There are only two genera and species of seadragons.

Family

(Obsolete) All the members of a household living under one roof.

Genus

A taxon at this rank.

Family

A locally independent organized crime unit, as of the Cosa Nostra.

Genus

A group with common attributes.

Family

A group of like things; a class
The family of brass instruments.

Genus

A natural number representing any of several related measures of the complexity of a given manifold or graph.

Family

A group of individuals derived from a common stock
The family of human beings.

Genus

(semantics) Within a definition, a broader category of the defined concept.

Family

(Biology) A taxonomic category of related organisms ranking below an order and above a genus. A family usually consists of several genera.

Genus

(music) A type of tuning or intonation, used within an Ancient Greek tetrachord.

Family

(Linguistics) A group of languages descended from the same parent language, such as the Indo-European language family.

Genus

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.

Family

(Mathematics) A set of functions or surfaces that can be generated by varying the parameters of a general equation.

Genus

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.

Family

A group of elements with similar chemical properties.

Genus

A general kind of something;
Ignore the genus communism

Family

A vertical column in the periodic table of elements.

Genus

(biology) taxonomic group containing one or more species

Family

(Physics) Any of the three generations of elementary fermions.

Family

Of or having to do with a family
Family problems.

Family

Being suitable for a family
Family movies.

Family

(countable) A group of people who are closely related to one another (by blood, marriage or adoption); kin; in particular, a set of parents and their children; an immediate family.
Our family lives in town.
This is a family restaurant, stop making out!

Family

(countable) An extended family: a group of people who are related to one another by blood or marriage.

Family

(countable) A nuclear family: a mother and father who are married and cohabiting and their child or children.
The cultural struggle is for the survival of family values against all manner of atheistic amorality.
We must preserve the family unit if we want to save civilisation!

Family

(uncountable) Members of one's family collectively.
I have a lot of family in Australia.
He has a sister, but no other family.

Family

(countable) A (close-knit) group of people related by blood, friendship, marriage, law, or custom, especially if they live or work together.
Crime family, Mafia family
This is my fraternity family at the university.
Our company is one big happy family.

Family

(uncountable) Lineage, especially honorable or noble lineage.

Family

A category in the classification of organisms, ranking below order and above genus; a taxon at that rank.
Magnolias belong to the family Magnoliaceae.

Family

(countable) Any group or aggregation of things classed together as kindred or related from possessing in common characteristics which distinguish them from other things of the same order.
Doliracetam is a drug from the racetam family.

Family

A collection of sets, especially of subsets of a given set.
Let \mathcal F be a family of subsets over S.

Family

A group of instruments having the same basic method of tone production.
The brass family;
The violin family

Family

A group of languages believed to have descended from the same ancestral language.
The Indo-European language family;
The Afroasiatic language family

Family

Suitable for children and adults.
It's not good for a date, it's a family restaurant.
Some animated movies are not just for kids, they are family movies.

Family

(slang) Homosexual.
I knew he was family when I first met him.

Family

The collective body of persons who live in one house, and under one head or manager; a household, including parents, children, and servants, and, as the case may be, lodgers or boarders.

Family

The group comprising a husband and wife and their dependent children, constituting a fundamental unit in the organization of society.
The welfare of the family underlies the welfare of society.

Family

Those who descend from one common progenitor; a tribe, clan, or race; kindred; house; as, the human family; the family of Abraham; the father of a family.
Go ! and pretend your family is young.

Family

Course of descent; genealogy; line of ancestors; lineage.

Family

Honorable descent; noble or respectable stock; as, a man of family.

Family

A group of kindred or closely related individuals; as, a family of languages; a family of States; the chlorine family.

Family

A group of organisms, either animal or vegetable, related by certain points of resemblance in structure or development, more comprehensive than a genus, because it is usually based on fewer or less pronounced points of likeness. In Zoology a family is less comprehesive than an order; in botany it is often considered the same thing as an order.

Family

A social unit living together;
He moved his family to Virginia
It was a good Christian household
I waited until the whole house was asleep
The teacher asked how many people made up his home

Family

Primary social group; parents and children;
He wanted to have a good job before starting a family

Family

People descended from a common ancestor;
His family has lived in Massachusetts since the Mayflower

Family

A collection of things sharing a common attribute;
There are two classes of detergents

Family

An association of people who share common beliefs or activities;
The message was addressed not just to employees but to every member of the company family
The church welcomed new members into its fellowship

Family

(biology) a taxonomic group containing one or more genera;
Sharks belong to the fish family

Family

A person having kinship with another or others;
He's kin
He's family

Family

A loose affiliation of gangsters in charge of organized criminal activities

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