generic

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See also: genèric

English

English Wikipedia has an article on:
Wikipedia

Alternative forms

Etymology

From Middle French générique, from Latin genus (genus, kind) + -ic; thus morphologically parallel with, and a doublet of, general.

Pronunciation

Adjective

generic (comparative more generic, superlative most generic)

  1. Very comprehensive; pertaining or appropriate to large classes or groups (genera) as opposed to specific instances.
    Antonyms: specific, instantial
    • 1864, Walter Bagehot, “Wordsworth, Tennyson, and Browning; or, Pure, Ornate, and Grotesque Art in English Poetry”, in The National Review, volume 19:
      [] the essence is that such self-describing poets describe what is in them, but not peculiar to them, – what is generic, not what is special and individual.
    "Shrimp" is the generic name for a number of species of sea creature.
    1. (taxonomy) Pertaining to genera of life instead of particular species thereof.
      There are scores of generic names within the order Decapoda, which includes many sea creatures that are called shrimp.
      Holonym: familial
      Meronyms: infrasubspecific, < infraspecific, subspecific, < specific
  2. lacking in precision, often in an evasive fashion; vague; imprecise
  3. (of a product or drug) not having a brand name; nonproprietary in design or contents; fungible with the rest of its class.
  4. (grammar) specifying neither masculine nor feminine; epicene; unisex.
    Words like salesperson and firefighter are generic.
  5. (computing, of procedures) Written so as to operate on any data type, the type required being passed as a parameter.
  6. (geometry, of a point) Having coordinates that are algebraically independent over the base field.
  7. Relating to genre.
    • 2018, Nicole Seymour, Bad Environmentalism, page 47:
      Both test formal and generic boundaries.

Synonyms

Antonyms

Derived terms

Translations

Noun

generic (plural generics)

  1. A product sold under a generic name.
  2. A wine that is a combination of several wines, or made from a combination of several grape varieties.
    Synonym: blend
    Antonym: varietal
  3. (grammar) A term that specifies neither male nor female.
    • 1998, Jacqueline A. Dienemann, Nursing administration: managing patient care:
      [] a male-centered perspective [] has resulted in false generics in everyday life []
  4. (toponymy) The part of a toponym that identifies the feature's type.[1]
    Antonym: specific
    • 2024 July 29, “geographical names: translation”, in Writing Tips Plus, Ottawa: Translation Bureau, retrieved 2024-11-09:
      Where the generic of an English-language place name has been translated into French, it is essential to restore it to its original English form when translating the French document into English.

Translations

References

  1. ^ Ratelle, Claudine, Herrera, Carolina, Poirier, Isabelle (2012) Glossary of Generic Terms in Canada's Geographical Names, 2nd edition, Ottawa: Translation Bureau, →ISBN, pages xi–xii

Anagrams

Occitan

Etymology

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

Pronunciation

This entry needs pronunciation information. If you are familiar with the IPA then please add some!

Adjective

generic m (feminine singular generica, masculine plural generics, feminine plural genericas)

  1. generic

Further reading

Romanian

Etymology

Borrowed from French générique.

Pronunciation

Adjective

generic m or n (feminine singular generică, masculine plural generici, feminine and neuter plural generice)

  1. generic

Declension

singular plural
masculine neuter feminine masculine neuter feminine
nominative-
accusative
indefinite generic generică generici generice
definite genericul generica genericii genericele
genitive-
dative
indefinite generic generice generici generice
definite genericului genericei genericelor genericilor

Noun

generic n (plural generice)

  1. (television, film) credits, titles

Declension

singular plural
indefinite definite indefinite definite
nominative-accusative generic genericul generice genericele
genitive-dative generic genericului generice genericelor
vocative genericule genericelor

Further reading