genre

Etymology

Borrowed from French genre (“kind”), from Latin genus, generem (cognate with Ancient Greek γένος (génos)). Doublet of gender, genus, and kin.

noun

1. A kind; a stylistic category or sort, especially of literature or other artworks.
   The still life has been a popular genre in painting since the 17th century.
   This film is a cross-genre piece, dark and funny at the same time.
   The computer game Half-Life redefined the first-person shooter genre.
   One of the difficulties that plague conversations about industrial music is that the genre has come to include (to the chagrin and outright denial of some purists) anything from gentle synthesized droning to metal-inspired riffage. 2013, S. Alexander Reed, Assimilate: A Critical History of Industrial Music, page 38