Genus (plural genera)
In biology, a genus is a grouping in the classification of living organisms having one or more related species.
In logic is a genus a general kind of something. Libraries and archives, for example, may have "memory institutions" as their genus.
In linguistics a generic term is a noun (or a noun phrase) that refers to a whole class, or to any member of a class as a representative of its class.
The semantic relation between a term specifying a genus and a term specifying a species may be termed:
Genus-species relation
Generic-specific lexical relation
Hyponymous relationships (hyponym-hyperonym)
A hierarchical subordinate relation. (A is kind of B; A is subordinate to B; A is narrower than B; B is broader than A).
is-a (“instance”, example relation) designates the semantic relations between a general concept and individual instances of that concept. A is an example of B. Example: Copenhagen is an instance of the general concept 'capital'.
? parent/child relationship
«The genus-species relations indicate that all the concepts that belong to the specific concept category (species) are part of the extension of the generic concept (genus). The specific concept includes all the characteristics of the generic concept with at least one supplementary distinctive characteristic. These distinctive characteristics allow to differentiate the specific concepts that belong to the same level of abstraction.» (ISO 704 : 3.4.1.1)
Literature:
ISO 704: 2000 Terminology work — Principles and methods.
See also: Differentia; Hierarchy; Species
Birger Hjørland
Last edited: 21-09-2006