Genre (zhänr) n=A type or class

2. a.A category of artistic composition, as in music or literature, marked by a distinctive style, form, or content: “his six String Quartets . . . the most important works in the genre since Beethoven's” (Time).

b.A realistic style of painting that depicts scenes from everyday life.

[French from Old French kind, from Latin genus, gener-; see gen- in Indo-European Roots.]