Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary · 1913

Genre

Genre (zhaN"r') , noun

[F. See Gender.]

1.
Kind; genus; class; form; style, esp. in literature.
French drama was lisping or still inarticulate; the great French genre of the fabliau was hardly born. — Saintsbury
A particular demand... that we shall pay special attention to the matter of genres -- that is, to the different forms or categories of literature. — W. P. Trent
2.
(Fine Arts) A style of painting, sculpture, or other imitative art, which illustrates everyday life and manners.