English edit

Alternative forms edit

Etymology edit

From Middle English general, in turn from Anglo-Norman general, generall, Middle French general, and their source, Latin generālis, from genus (class, kind) + -ālis (-al); thus morphologically parallel with, and a doublet of, generic.

Pronunciation edit

  • (UK, US) enPR: jĕnʹ(ə)rəl, IPA(key): /ˈd͡ʒɛn.(ə.)ɹəl/
    • (file)
  • Hyphenation: gene‧ral, (chiefly US) gen‧er‧al
  • Rhymes: (US) -ɛnəɹəl

Adjective edit

general (comparative more general, superlative most general)

  1. Including or involving every part or member of a given or implied entity, whole etc.; as opposed to specific or particular. [from 13th c.]
    • c. 1495, John Skelton, "Vppon a deedman's hed":
      It is generall / To be mortall: / I haue well espyde / No man may hym hyde / From Deth holow eyed [] .
    • 1842, Douglas Jerrold, “Mr Peppersorn ‘At Home’”, in Cakes and Ale:
      "Among us!" was the general shout, and Peppersorn sat frozen to his chair.
    • 1946, Bertrand Russell, “Stoicism”, in History of Western Philosophy, book 1, part 3:
      Undoubtedly the age of the Antonines was much better than any later age until the Renaissance, from the point of view of the general happiness.
    • 2006 October 15, Ruth Sutherland, “Invite public to the private equity party”, in The Observer:
      One advantage of having profitable companies in Britain is that they pay large sums in corporate tax into the Exchequer, which in theory at least is used for the general good.
  2. (sometimes postpositive) Applied to a person (as a postmodifier or a normal preceding adjective) to indicate supreme rank, in civil or military titles, and later in other terms; pre-eminent. [from 14th c.]
    • 1865, Edward Cust, Lives of the Warriors of the Thirty Years War, page 527:
      For these successes he obtained the rank of Field-Marshal General.
    • 2002, James Turner, Libertines and Radicals in Early Modern London, page 122:
      He becomes the chief chartered libertine, the whoremaster-general flourishing his "standard" over a female army [] .
  3. Prevalent or widespread among a given class or area; common, usual. [from 14th c.]
    • 1817, Sir Walter Scott, chapter IX, in Rob Roy:
      ‘I can't quite afford you the sympathy you expect upon this score,’ I replied; ‘the misfortune is so general, that it belongs to one half of the species [] .’
    • 2008 December 20, John Patterson, “Home movies”, in The Guardian:
      The general opinion on Baz Luhrmann's overstuffed epic Australia seems to be that it throws in everything but the kitchen sink, and then tosses that in too, just to be sure.
  4. Not limited in use or application; applicable across a broad range. [from 14th c.]
    • 1924 March 17, Time:
      M. Venizelos went to Athens from Paris early last January in response to a general invitation from the Greek populace.
    • 1947 October 20, “Russian Catechism”, in Time:
      Already in the primary school work is conducted for the purpose of equipping the pupils with those elements of general knowledge which are closely related to the military preparation of future warriors.
    • 2009, Douglas P. Zipes, Saturday Evening Post, volume 281, number 1, page 20:
      Supraventricular tachycardia (SVT) is a general term indicating a rapid heartbeat (tachycardia) coming from the top chambers of the heart - in essence, above (supra) the lower chamber (ventricular).
  5. Giving or consisting of only the most important aspects of something, ignoring minor details; indefinite. [from 16th c.]
    • 1817, Sir Walter Scott, chapter X, in Rob Roy:
      As she thus spoke, the entrance of the servants with dinner cut off all conversation but that of a general nature.
    • 1941, W Somerset Maugham, Up at the Villa, Vintage, published 2004, page 24:
      There was a moment's pause. The Princess broke in with some casual remark and once more the conversation became general.
    • 2006 July 16, Kevin Nance, “Ghosts of the White City”, in Chicago Sun-Times:
      The quick answer is that the 1893 Exposition was simply so important — "the greatest event in the history of the country since the Civil War," as Harper's put it that October — but that feels too general.
    • 2008, Robert P. Maloney, “The Quiet Carpenter”, in America, volume 199, number 19, page 18:
      Given the scarcity of relevant historical detail in the New Testament, we are left with only a general outline about Joseph.
  6. Not of a specific class; miscellaneous. [from 16th c.]
    • 2007, Alan Cheuse, “A Little Death”, in Southern Review, volume 43, number 3, page 692:
      His measured, springless walk was the walk of the skilled countryman as distinct from the desultory shamble of the general labourer [] .

Synonyms edit

Antonyms edit

Related terms edit

Translations edit

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Noun edit

general (countable and uncountable, plural generals)

  1. (military) The holder of a senior military title, originally designating the commander of an army and now a specific rank falling under field marshal (in the British army) and below general of the army or general of the air force in the US army and air forces. [from 16th c.]
  2. A great strategist or tactician. [from 16th c.]
    Hannibal was one of the greatest generals of the ancient world.
  3. (now rare) A general fact or proposition; a generality. [from 16th c.]
    We have dealt with the generals; now let us turn to the particulars.
  4. (Christianity) The head of certain religious orders, especially Dominicans or Jesuits. [from 16th c.]
  5. (nautical) A commander of naval forces; an admiral. [16th–18th c.]
  6. (colloquial, now historical) A general servant; a maid with no specific duties. [from 19th c.]
  7. (countable) A general anesthetic.
  8. (uncountable) General anesthesia.
  9. (uncountable, insurance) The general insurance industry.
    I work in general.
  10. (xiangqi) A xiangqi piece that is moved one point orthogonally and confined within the palace.

Usage notes edit

When used as a title, it is always capitalized, as in “General John Doe”.

The rank corresponds to pay grade O-10. Abbreviations: GEN.

Hyponyms edit

(high-ranking military officer):

Coordinate terms edit

Translations edit

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

See also edit

Xiangqi pieces in English (see also: xiangqi) (layout · text)
             
general advisor elephant horse chariot cannon soldier

Verb edit

general (third-person singular simple present generals, present participle generalling or generaling, simple past and past participle generalled or generaled)

  1. To lead (soldiers) as a general.

Adverb edit

general (not comparable)

  1. (obsolete) In a general or collective manner or sense; in most cases; upon the whole.

Derived terms edit

terms derived from all parts of speech

Anagrams edit

Azerbaijani edit

Alternative forms edit

Etymology edit

Ultimately from Latin generālis.

Pronunciation edit

  • IPA(key): [ɟeneˈrɑɫ]
  • Hyphenation: ge‧ne‧ral

Noun edit

general (definite accusative generalı, plural generallar)

  1. general

Declension edit

    Declension of general
singular plural
nominative general
generallar
definite accusative generalı
generalları
dative generala
generallara
locative generalda
generallarda
ablative generaldan
generallardan
definite genitive generalın
generalların
    Possessive forms of general
nominative
singular plural
mənim (my) generalım generallarım
sənin (your) generalın generalların
onun (his/her/its) generalı generalları
bizim (our) generalımız generallarımız
sizin (your) generalınız generallarınız
onların (their) generalı or generalları generalları
accusative
singular plural
mənim (my) generalımı generallarımı
sənin (your) generalını generallarını
onun (his/her/its) generalını generallarını
bizim (our) generalımızı generallarımızı
sizin (your) generalınızı generallarınızı
onların (their) generalını or generallarını generallarını
dative
singular plural
mənim (my) generalıma generallarıma
sənin (your) generalına generallarına
onun (his/her/its) generalına generallarına
bizim (our) generalımıza generallarımıza
sizin (your) generalınıza generallarınıza
onların (their) generalına or generallarına generallarına
locative
singular plural
mənim (my) generalımda generallarımda
sənin (your) generalında generallarında
onun (his/her/its) generalında generallarında
bizim (our) generalımızda generallarımızda
sizin (your) generalınızda generallarınızda
onların (their) generalında or generallarında generallarında
ablative
singular plural
mənim (my) generalımdan generallarımdan
sənin (your) generalından generallarından
onun (his/her/its) generalından generallarından
bizim (our) generalımızdan generallarımızdan
sizin (your) generalınızdan generallarınızdan
onların (their) generalından or generallarından generallarından
genitive
singular plural
mənim (my) generalımın generallarımın
sənin (your) generalının generallarının
onun (his/her/its) generalının generallarının
bizim (our) generalımızın generallarımızın
sizin (your) generalınızın generallarınızın
onların (their) generalının or generallarının generallarının

Further reading edit

Catalan edit

Etymology edit

Borrowed from Latin generālis.

Pronunciation edit

Adjective edit

general m or f (masculine and feminine plural generals)

  1. general

Noun edit

general m (plural generals, feminine generala)

  1. (military) general

Derived terms edit

Further reading edit

Danish edit

Noun edit

general c (singular definite generalen, plural indefinite generaler)

  1. general

Inflection edit

Ladin edit

Adjective edit

general m (feminine singular generala, masculine plural generai, feminine plural generales)

  1. general

Middle English edit

Alternative forms edit

Etymology edit

From a mixture of Anglo-Norman general, Middle French general, and Latin generālis.

Pronunciation edit

  • IPA(key): /dʒɛnəˈraːl/, /ˈdʒɛnəral/

Adjective edit

general

  1. universal, complete
  2. comprehensive, wide-ranging
  3. general, widely useable or applicable
  4. common, widely present

Derived terms edit

Descendants edit

  • English: general
  • Scots: general
  • Yola: generale

References edit

Noun edit

general (plural generals)

  1. genus, class, group

References edit

Norwegian Bokmål edit

Noun edit

general m (definite singular generalen, indefinite plural generaler, definite plural generalene)

  1. (military) a general

Derived terms edit

Norwegian Nynorsk edit

Noun edit

general m (definite singular generalen, indefinite plural generalar, definite plural generalane)

  1. (military) a general

Derived terms edit

Old French edit

Etymology edit

Borrowed from Latin generālis.

Noun edit

general oblique singularm (oblique plural generaus or generax or generals, nominative singular generaus or generax or generals, nominative plural general)

  1. (military) general

Adjective edit

general m (oblique and nominative feminine singular generale)

  1. general (not limited in use or application; applicable to the whole or every member of a class or category)

Declension edit

Descendants edit

Portuguese edit

Etymology edit

Learned borrowing from Latin generālis. Doublet of geral.

Pronunciation edit

 
  • (Portugal) IPA(key): /ʒɨ.nɨˈɾal/ [ʒɨ.nɨˈɾaɫ]
    • (Southern Portugal) IPA(key): /ʒɨ.nɨˈɾa.li/

  • Rhymes: (Portugal) -al, (Brazil) -aw
  • Hyphenation: ge‧ne‧ral

Noun edit

general m (plural generais, feminine generala, feminine plural generalas)

  1. (military) general

Descendants edit

Further reading edit

Romanian edit

Etymology edit

Borrowed from French général, from Latin generālis.

Pronunciation edit

Noun edit

general m (plural generali)

  1. general

Declension edit

Adjective edit

general m or n (feminine singular generală, masculine plural generali, feminine and neuter plural generale)

  1. general

Declension edit

Related terms edit

Serbo-Croatian edit

Etymology edit

Borrowed from German General, from Latin generālis.

Pronunciation edit

  • IPA(key): /ɡeněraːl/
  • Hyphenation: ge‧ne‧ral

Noun edit

genèrāl m (Cyrillic spelling генѐра̄л)

  1. (military) general

Declension edit

Slovene edit

Etymology edit

From German General, from Latin generālis.

Pronunciation edit

Noun edit

generȃl m anim (female equivalent generȃlica or generȃlka)

  1. (military) general

Inflection edit

 
The diacritics used in this section of the entry are non-tonal. If you are a native tonal speaker, please help by adding the tonal marks.
Masculine anim., hard o-stem
nom. sing. generál
gen. sing. generála
singular dual plural
nominative
(imenovȃlnik)
generál generála generáli
genitive
(rodȋlnik)
generála generálov generálov
dative
(dajȃlnik)
generálu generáloma generálom
accusative
(tožȋlnik)
generála generála generále
locative
(mẹ̑stnik)
generálu generálih generálih
instrumental
(orọ̑dnik)
generálom generáloma generáli

Further reading edit

  • general”, in Slovarji Inštituta za slovenski jezik Frana Ramovša ZRC SAZU, portal Fran

Spanish edit

Etymology edit

From Latin generālis.

Pronunciation edit

  • IPA(key): /xeneˈɾal/ [xe.neˈɾal]
  • Rhymes: -al
  • Syllabification: ge‧ne‧ral

Adjective edit

general m or f (masculine and feminine plural generales)

  1. general, overall

Derived terms edit

Noun edit

general m (plural generales, feminine general or generala, feminine plural generales or generalas)

  1. (military) general

Noun edit

general f (plural generales)

  1. (informal, in the plural) general elections
    • 2003 July 12, fernando, “CON ZAPATERO PERDEMOS LAS GENERALES [WITH ZAPATERO WE LOSE THE GENERAL ELECTIONS]”, in soc.culture.spain[1] (Usenet):

Derived terms edit

Descendants edit

Further reading edit

Swedish edit

Etymology edit

From German General, from Old French general, from Latin generālis.

Pronunciation edit

Noun edit

general c

  1. a general; a military title[1]
  2. an Air Chief Marshal[1]

Declension edit

Declension of general 
Singular Plural
Indefinite Definite Indefinite Definite
Nominative general generalen generaler generalerna
Genitive generals generalens generalers generalernas

Descendants edit

References edit

  1. 1.0 1.1 Utrikes namnbok (7th ed., 2007) →ISBN