Plural of genus

irregular plural

The plural of genus is genera or genuses.

Forms of genus

Less standard forms: genusses (nonstandard), genii (nonstandard).

There are only two genera and species of seadragons.
Other maloid genera with hard nutlets are Cotoneaster, Hesperomeles, Osteomeles, and Pyracantba, but each of these is quite different from Mespilus and Crataegus.2003, James B. Phipps, Robert J. O'Kennon, Ronald W. Lance, Hawthorns and Medlars, Portland, O.R.: Timber Press, →ISBN, page 57
Abstraction is necessary for the classification of things into genera and species.From the entry abstraction
The genera by which two families approximate are called osculant genera.From the entry osculant
Campylidia are found in several genera of tropical foliicolous lichens.From the entry campylidium

noun A category in the classification of organisms, ranking below family (Lat. familia) and above species.
noun A taxon at this rank.
noun A group with common attributes.

What is the plural of genus?: The plural of genus is genera or genuses.
Which is correct, genera or genuses?: Both are used. genera is the more common of the two in English writing.
Is genus countable?: Genus is a countable noun.
Is genusses correct?: genusses is marked nonstandard in Wiktionary. The usual plural of genus is genera or genuses.
Is genii correct?: genii is marked nonstandard in Wiktionary. The usual plural of genus is genera or genuses.

Adapted from Wiktionary: genus (page history and authors) and the entries of its forms. Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws left out forms marked obsolete, archaic, rare or dialectal and added the examples. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

Last updated: 2026-09-02

Cite this page: “Plural of genus.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/plural/genus. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.