General header - MDN Web Docs Glossary: Definitions of Web-related terms 编辑

A general header is an HTTP header that can be used in both request and response messages but doesn't apply to the content itself. Depending on the context they are used in, general headers are either response or request headers (e.g. Cache-Control).

Current versions of the HTTP/1.1 specification do not specifically categorize headers as "general headers". Historically the general headers did not include headers that describe the payload (entity headers).