Generic name

Biology

In biological nomenclature, a generic name or "the name of a genus" (sometimes "genus name") is the name of a genus. In any scientific name to consist of more than one part, the name of the genus will be the first part.

In Chamaecyparis lawsoniana 'Allumii', the first part (Chamaecyparis) is the generic name.

Any generic name can also be used independently to refer to the genus. Many generic names have passed into common language as common names: Dahlia, Geranium, Mimosa, Sequoia, etc.

See also Nomenclature Codes

Drugs

In referring to drugs, "generic name" is a phrase that is equivalent to an International Nonproprietary Name. For example the list of drugs by name includes both brand names (with capital initials) and generic names (with a small intial letter).