genericadj.n.
/dʒᵻˈnɛrɪk/, U.S. /dʒəˈnɛrɪk/ A. adj.
1.
a. Characteristic of or relating to a class or type of objects, phenomena, etc.; applicable to a large group or class, or any member of it; not specific, general. Also: characteristic of or relating to the use of language, as generic name, term, word, etc. Frequently opposed to specific.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > kind or sort > generality > [adjective] > not specific
generical?a1475
generic1658
unspecific1807
non-specific1860
1658 S. Rutherford Surv. of Surv. Church-discipline iv. vi. 406 By this interpretation, when Paul saith the body is one, he meaneth a generick body; and the particular congregations are subjective parts, suitable to the whole.
1678 T. Gale Court of Gentiles: Pt. IV 97 He makes it be only a remote concurse to the act considered in genere, in its generic nature, not to the individual particular act.
1682 N. Grew Anat. Plants iv. i. vi. 158 This Saline Principle..is..a Generik Name, under which divers Species are comprehended.
1724 I. Watts Logick i. vi. §4 Though wine differs from other liquids in that it is the juice of a certain fruit, yet this is but a general or generic difference, for it does not distinguish wine from cyder or perry.
1789 J. Bentham Introd. Princ. Morals & Legisl. xviii. §35 The circumstance of fraudulency then may serve to characterize a particular species, comprisable under each of those generic heads.
1821 J. Q. Adams in C. Davies Metr. Syst. (1871) iii. 208 The terms ‘weight’ and ‘balance’ were thus generic terms, without specific meaning.
a1834 S. T. Coleridge Lit. Remains (1839) IV. 209 The man is self-conscious alike when he remembers, wills, and understands; but in what sense is the generic term ‘memory’ conscious to the generic word ‘will?’
1851 T. Wright & G. F. Richardson Introd. Geol. (new ed.) viii. 208 The preservation of the generic and specific characters of fossil remains varies in different strata.
1880 J. Inglis Our Austral. Cousins 149 ‘Cornstalk’ is the generic nickname applied to the native-born New South Welshman.
1928 A. Huxley Point Counter Point xxiv. 424 The derisive individual in her pained and repelled him; but the attraction of what was generic, of the whole feminine species, the entire sex, was stronger.
1942 Mind 51 80 Part II is a systematic and richly illustrated description of generic and special forms, of inter-medial and intra-medial forms.
1983 B. Cottle Names i. 12 Primitive languages have words for various trees but no generic term for ‘tree’.
2005 R. Nidel World Music: Basics iv. 235 Kagura is the generic term for all Shinto music and dance.
b. Law (originally U.S.). Of a name or designation: used generally for all articles of a particular kind, irrespective of their manufacturer or origin, and therefore not admissible as a trademark for such articles; not protected by legislation, not proprietary.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > language > naming > name or appellation > [adjective] > of a name: generic
generic1901
non-proprietary1909
1846 Federal Cases 23 748 But in Blanchard v. Hill, 2 Atk. 484, it was merely decided, that the court would not enjoin one tradesman from using the same mark with another, a generic one, ‘The Great Mogul’.
1884 Rep. Supreme Court Ohio 41 135 It is further insisted, that there is no mechanical device [etc.]..to which the name could refer, and thus become, as it were, generic in its character.
1901 Supreme Court Reporter (U.S.) 21 13/2 He should not have waited until the name ‘Hunyadi’ had become generic in this country, and indicative of this whole class of medicinal waters.
1936 Federal Reporter (1937) 2nd Ser. 85 81/2 From the evidence it appeared that ‘Eureka’ to the dealers in shirts had become generic as referring to the style, but to the ultimate purchasers the word had reference to the plaintiff's own make.
1967 Times Rev. Industry Mar. 40/1 A number of articles, particularly consumer goods, have acquired the mixed blessing of becoming not only household words but being spoken of as ‘generic’ names.
2006 T3 Jan. 139 Pundits jumped on the bandwagon, and the word ‘iPod’ achieved ‘Hoover’ status, taking ownership of the generic word for the MP3 players.
c. Of the name of a drug: specially given in order that it may be freely used without legal restriction (e.g. in pharmacopoeias), in contrast to a brand name assigned by a particular manufacturer. Of a drug: marketed or packaged under a generic name. Cf. no-name adj. 1.
ΘΚΠ
the world > health and disease > healing > medicines or physic > [adjective] > generic
generic1949
1949 Jrnl. Amer. Med. Assoc. 25 June 680/1 The Council [on Pharmacy and Chemistry] does not recognize names that suggest therapeutic use and prefers names, both protected and common or generic, that indicate the potent element or constituent of the drug... Fundamental, of course, is the provision of a single ‘generic’ name for each drug.
1953 Chem. & Engin. News 7 Dec. 5117/1 The problem of applying to chemicals short names of a type called variously ‘generic’, ‘nonproprietary’, and ‘coined common’ is becoming increasingly important.
1973 Sci. Amer. Sept. 161/2 The general public is aware of and concerned about such issues as..the debate over brand-name v. generic-name prescription writing.
1989 Lancet 1 Apr. 716/1 The act will allow pharmacists to substitute generic drugs for prescribed brand-name products.
2008 Daily Tel. 25 Jan. 16/2 The drugs were primarily generic versions of Valium and Xanax, both anti-anxiety pills, said police.
d. Originally U.S. Of a commercial product: having no brand name; = no-name adj. 1. Cf. own brand adj.Generic products are characteristically lower in price than those with brand names and sold in plain, cheap packaging.
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society > trade and finance > merchandise > article(s) to be sold > [adjective] > generic or not branded
off-brand1929
generic1977
no-name1977
white-label1978
1977 Time 21 Nov. 80/3 Unlike the major brands, which usually demand top-grade foodstuffs, the generic products are the cheaper, ‘standard’ quality goods.
1985 Times 4 July 25/7 Another six months or a year could..put Liggett out for good, leaving B & W in a strong position in the US generic cigarette market.
1991 Amer. Demographics Feb. 54/3 They were looking for the best deals, buying generic products, shopping at ‘warehouse’ retail outlets, and looking for rock-bottom prices.
2005 S. L. Barnes Cost of being Poor iii. 88 Female respondents acknowledge purchases such as chicken wings and legs,..generic breakfast cereals, and eggs that are easy to prepare, less expensive, and that can be stretched to feed a large family.
e. Originally North American. Typical; dull, unoriginal, nondescript.
ΚΠ
1982 Globe & Mail (Toronto) 26 Feb. 18/5 It's not a ‘generic’ rock project. Although it doesn't break as much new ground as Hughie, in particular, seems to think it does, it is something special.
1984 N.Y. Times 1 Apr. (Connecticut Weekly section) 24/1 He began by making ‘generic buildings’..a tall office building, a short, squatty factory.
1997 Chicago Tribune 6 Aug. ii. 9/1 Will Daley's plan be tailored to the needs of Cabrini-Green's residents or will it create a generic Yuppieville?
2006 Games TM No. 49. 19/2 It warms our hearts to see smaller dev houses emerging to provide something different to the generic offerings of the big, multinational publishers.
2. Biology. Of or relating to a taxonomic genus.
ΘΚΠ
the world > life > biology > taxonomy > taxon > [adjective] > genus or sub-genus
generic1759
congenerous1768
subgeneric1825
congenerica1834
subgenerical1839
intrageneric1947
1759 Philos. Trans. 1758 (Royal Soc.) 50 655 Under the same generic term he has introduced them into the third edition of Ray's Synopsis of British Plants.
1839 J. Lindley Introd. Bot. (ed. 3) iv. 529 Generic names that express the essential character or habit of a plant are the best of all.
1893 T. R. R. Stebbing Hist. Crustacea xxiii. 371 Seeing that this account is accompanied by an unmistakable figure of Astacilla longicornis.., it seems only proper to uphold the priority of Cordiner's generic name.
a1933 J. A. Thomson Biol. for Everyman (1934) II. 994 In..binomial nomenclature..a species gets two names, e.g. Felis leo, the first name being generic.
1961 J. Stubblefield Davies's Introd. Palaeontol. (ed. 3) xiii. 267 If a generic name has already been applied to another genus,..the name in its new application is a junior homonym.
2002 S. J. Gould Struct. Evolutionary Theory x. 1148 The generic name of the most famous modern form, Peripatus, honors the homonomy of the numerous lobopods, the pair of leglike structures on each segment.
B. n.
1.
a. With the. That which is generic. Opposed to individual, specific.
ΚΠ
1664 G. Havers tr. T. Renaudot et al. Gen. Coll. Disc. Virtuosi France xlix. 292 The Second said, Specifick is that which is determin'd to some one thing, and hath above it the Generick; and below, the Individual [Fr. & a dessus soi generique, comme au dessouz individüel].
1817 S. T. Coleridge Biographia Literaria II. xxiii. 263 The ideal consists in the happy balance of the generic with the individual.
2005 W. Smith Quantum Engima (ed. 3) iii. 52 There are, of course, degrees of specification; the distinction, however, between the generic and the specific is nonetheless well defined.
b. As a count noun: something generic; (in quot. 1807) spec. a generic question. Usually in plural (opposed to specifics).
ΚΠ
1807 T. Sikes in C. C. Southey Life A. Bell (1844) II. 567 I requested you to give me the solution of two generics, which..would suggest to me what sort of matter I should want for your satisfaction.
1874 H. W. Beecher Lect. Preaching 3rd Ser. viii. 153 Generics never take hold of men. It is specifics that take hold of them.
1989 R. G. D'Andrade in M. I. Posner Found. Cognitive Sci. xx. 803 Another solution is to say that the taxonomic relation does not really hold between life forms and generics, but does hold between generics and specifics.
2. A generic word used as an element (usually the second) in a compound proper name.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > language > naming > name or appellation > [noun] > personal name > first part of
prototheme1897
generic1946
1946 Geogr. Rev. 36 266 The names of physical features display distinctive regional differences resulting from the use of certain characteristic generic terms in various parts of the country. For instance, several generics..are used to designate streams.
1962 M. F. Burrill & E. Bonsack in F. W. Householder & S. Saporta Probl. Lexicogr. 184 The words hope and folly, encountered in some names, have a topographic meaning and are used as generics in England.
2001 C. Hough in Anglo-Saxon Eng. 30 3 Since both generics are represented in other place-names from OE pohha, pocca,the matter is difficult to resolve.
3. Originally U.S. A generic drug or product. Cf. no-name n. 1.
ΘΚΠ
the world > health and disease > healing > medicines or physic > [noun] > a medicine or medicament > generic drug
generic1967
society > trade and finance > merchandise > article(s) to be sold > [noun] > class of branded goods > not branded or generic
generic1967
no-name1984
1967 Sci. News Let. 4 Mar. 207 (heading) Senate backing of low cost generics could cut retail prices and open new competition between drugs.
1982 Times 26 Jan. 15/3 Within the grocery industry, such products are usually known as ‘generics’, but they are also sometimes referred to as ‘brand-free’ or ‘no-name’ items.
2001 T. H. Culley Immortal Class (2002) viii. 207 I had a stash of horse pills, generics, made of 800 mg of ibuprofen.
2006 Daily Tel. 28 Dec. 9/2 Five statins are available on the NHS and two of them, simvastatin and pravastatin, are available as generics.
Compounds
generic image n. Psychology a mental image representing generically any object of a particular class or kind.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > psychology > mental image > [noun]
generic image1817
1817 S. T. Coleridge Biogr. Lit. v. 98 Des Cartes..showed, in what sense not only general terms, but generic images (under the name of abstract ideas) actually existed.
1878 W. James Notebk. in R. B. Perry Thought & Char. W. James (1935) II. 80 Generic images..will be remembered as further instances of facts persistently denied by empiricists.
1918 J. Ward Psychol. Princ. xii. 299 The generic image (Gemeinbild of German psychologists) constitutes the connecting link between ideation and conception.
1995 R. D. Ellis Questioning Consciousness iii. 121 We build up from our childish generic images, the concepts we require for effective logical thought.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, September 2009; most recently modified version published online June 2022).
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adj.n.1658