Emily Dickinson Lexicon

GE-NER'IC, or GE-NER'IC-AL, a. [It. and Sp. generico; Fr. generique; from L. genus.]

Pertaining to a genus or kind; comprehending the genus, as distinct from species, or from another genus. A generic description is a description of a genus; a generic difference is a difference in genus; a generic name is the denomination which comprehends all the species, as of animals, plants or fossils, which have certain essential and peculiar characters in common. Thus Canis is the generic name of animals of the dog kind; Felis, of the cat kind; Cervus, of the deer kind.