generic

Etymology

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

adj

1. Very comprehensive; pertaining or appropriate to large classes or groups (genera) as opposed to specific instances.
   […] 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. 1864, Walter Bagehot, “Wordsworth, Tennyson, and Browning; or, Pure, Ornate, and Grotesque Art in English Poetry”, in The National Review, volume 19
   "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.
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. Relating to gender.
5. (grammar) specifying neither masculine nor feminine; epicene; unisex.
   Words like salesperson and firefighter are generic.
6. (computing, of procedures) Written so as to operate on any data type, the type required being passed as a parameter.
7. (geometry, of a point) Having coordinates that are algebraically independent over the base field.

noun

1. A product sold under a generic name.
2. A wine that is a blend of several wines, or made from a blend of several grape varieties.
3. (grammar) A term that specifies neither male nor female.
   […]a male-centered perspective[…]has resulted in false generics in everyday life[…] 1998, Jacqueline A. Dienemann, Nursing administration: managing patient care