genre

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

• noun A category of artistic composition, as in music or literature, marked by a distinctive style, form, or content.
• noun A realistic style of painting that depicts scenes from everyday life.
• noun A type or class.

from The Century Dictionary.

• noun Genus; kind; sort; style.
• noun In painting, specifically, a representation of some phase of common life, as a domestic interior, a rural or village scene, etc.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

• noun Kind; genus; class; form; style, esp. in literature.
• noun (Fine Arts) A style of painting, sculpture, or other imitative art, which illustrates everyday life and manners.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

• noun A kind; a stylistic category or sort, especially of literature or other artworks.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

• noun a kind of literary or artistic work
• noun a class of art (or artistic endeavor) having a characteristic form or technique
• noun a style of expressing yourself in writing
• noun an expressive style of music