A function consisting of a set of methods with a common calling protocol. A generic function computes its value by selecting and calling an appropriate method based on the types of the arguments. See also method dispatch.
function whose behavior depends on the classes or identities of the arguments supplied to it and whose parts include, among other things, a set of methods lambda list, and a method combination type.
In certain systems for object-oriented programming such as the Common Lisp Object System and Dylan, a generic function is an entity made up of all methods having the same name.