Generic
/dʒəˈnɛrɪk/noun
Relating to a whole class, kind, or group rather than a specific instance.
Did you know?In Latin, *genus* meant a “birth, race, stock, kind,” so *generic* originally meant something belonging to a whole lineage or category — not just “plain” or “unbranded.”
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*ǵenh₁-
“to beget, give birth to”
Latin
Latin
genus
“birth, descent, race, kind, class”
Late Latin
Latin
genēricus
“pertaining to a class or kind”
Middle French
Old French
générique
“generic, general in kind”
Late 16th Century
English
generic
“relating to a genus or class; not specific”