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Glite Dictionary
genus Homo

genus Homo

7.3
A group of species that includes modern humans and extinct relatives
  • noun
  • /ˈdʒɛnəs ˈhoʊmoʊ/
  • Specialized
translation icon : género Homo
  • The earliest members of our lineage, the genus Homo, were darkly pigmented.
  • species in the genus Homo

Examples

  • Art making is now species-specific because humans are the only surviving species in the genus Homo of the family Hominidae.

    Academic text (1998)

  • I am led to regard the genus Homo as not merely a representative of a distinct order, but of a distinct subclass of the Mammalia.

    Academic text (1995)

  • As members of the genus Homo, modern humans are distinguished by their advanced cognitive abilities.

  • The genus Homo includes several extinct species, such as Homo neanderthalensis and Homo erectus.

  • Researchers study fossils from the genus Homo to better understand human evolution and migration.

Synonyms

Homo
vsgenus Homo
  • Specialized
14 7.3

A group of animals that includes modern humans and close extinct relatives

focuses on taxonomic membership and fossil examples rather than describing traits

Surface Forms

genus Homo singular
genera Homo plural

Morphology

genus + Homo

The meaning is directly compositional: 'genus' names a biological rank and 'Homo' is the taxon label, so 'genus Homo' straightforwardly denotes that taxonomic group containing modern humans and close relatives. This follows standard scientific noun + name patterns common across languages, so a learner who knows both constituents can derive the meaning.

Etymology

Genus Homo comes from Latin: genus means 'group' and Homo means 'man', so it literally names the group of people. That's why genus Homo today refers to modern humans and their close extinct relatives.