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…sary The glossary defined the term only as the functools.singledispatch kind of function, but the language reference uses the same name for a function parameterized by type variables. Split the entry so that each meaning points at its own documentation, and describe the second one by what it does rather than by the PEP 695 syntax alone, since the older typing.TypeVar spelling means the same thing. The dispatch wording is word for word what it was; its lines are rewrapped only because the text now sits two columns further in.
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JelleZijlstra
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Sep 25, 2026
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Closes #110195.
The glossary defines "generic function" only as the singledispatch kind, which as @JelleZijlstra put it is consistent with the
functoolsdocs but not with the language reference, where the same words mean a PEP 695 function with a type parameter list. A reader who lands on the glossary from the reference gets the wrong answer.The entry now carries both meanings as two bullets, the dispatch one first since it was there already and is unchanged. The second points at
generic-functionsin the reference and at PEP 695, and mentions that explicitTypeVarobjects were the only way before 3.12, since plenty of code still looks like that.I left
generic typealone — it already describes the parameterized-type side, so the class half of the issue title seems covered. Say the word if you would rather it grew a similar split.Glossary only, no runtime change, so no news entry.