general
EnglishEdit
Alternative formsEdit
- generall (chiefly archaic)
EtymologyEdit
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.
PronunciationEdit
- (UK, US) enPR: jĕnʹrəl, IPA(key): /ˈd͡ʒɛnɹəl/
- (US) enPR: jĕnʹər-əl, IPA(key): /ˈd͡ʒɛnəɹəl/
Audio (US) (file) - Rhymes: (US) -ɛnəɹəl
- Hyphenation: gene‧ral,
- gen‧er‧al
AdjectiveEdit
general (comparative more general, superlative most general)
- 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, Skelton, John, "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, Jerrold, Douglas, “Mr Peppersorn ‘At Home’”, in Cakes and Ale:
- "Among us!" was the general shout, and Peppersorn sat frozen to his chair.
- 1946, Russell, Bertrand, “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, Sutherland, Ruth, “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.
- (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, Cust, Edward, Lives of the Warriors of the Thirty Years War, page 527:
- For these successes he obtained the rank of Field-Marshal General.
- 2002, Turner, James, 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 […] .
- Prevalent or widespread among a given class or area; common, usual. [from 14th c.]
- 1817, Scott, Sir Walter, 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, Patterson, John, “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.
- Not limited in use or application; applicable to the whole or every member of a class or category. [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.
- 2009, Zipes, Douglas P., 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).
- Giving or consisting of only the most important aspects of something, ignoring minor details; indefinite. [from 16th c.]
- 1817, Scott, Sir Walter, 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.
- 2006 July 16, Nance, Kevin, “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, Maloney, Robert P., “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.
- Not limited to a specific class; miscellaneous, concerned with all branches of a given subject or area. [from 16th c.]
- 1941, Maugham, W Somerset, 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.
- 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.
- 2007, Cheuse, Alan, “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 […] .
SynonymsEdit
- (involving every part or member): broad, generic; see also Thesaurus:generic
- (prevalent or widespread): typical; see also Thesaurus:common
AntonymsEdit
- (involving every part or member): particular, specific; see also Thesaurus:specific
- (prevalent or widespread): abnormal, uncommon
Related termsEdit
TranslationsEdit
|
|
|
|
|
- The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.
|
NounEdit
general (countable and uncountable, plural generals)
- (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.
- (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.]
- A great strategist or tactician. [from 16th c.]
- Hannibal was one of the greatest generals of the ancient world.
- (Christianity) The head of certain religious orders, especially Dominicans or Jesuits. [from 16th c.]
- (nautical) A commander of naval forces; an admiral. [16th–18th c.]
- (colloquial, now historical) A general servant; a maid with no specific duties. [from 19th c.]
- 1918 March, Rebecca West [pseudonym; Cicily Isabel Fairfield], chapter I, in The Return of the Soldier, 1st US edition, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., →OCLC, page 18:
- My general is sister to your second housemaid.
- (countable) A general anesthetic.
- (uncountable) General anesthesia.
- (uncountable, insurance) The general insurance industry.
- I work in general.
- (xiangqi) A xiangqi piece, that is moved one point orthogonally and confined within the palace.
Usage notesEdit
When used as a title, it is always capitalized.
- Example: General John Doe.
The rank corresponds to pay grade O-10. Abbreviations: GEN.
HyponymsEdit
(high-ranking military officer):
- brigadier general
- colonel general
- general of the air force
- general of the army
- lieutenant general
- major general
- sergeant major general, sergeant-major general
Coordinate termsEdit
TranslationsEdit
|
- The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.
See alsoEdit
Xiangqi pieces in English · xiangqi pieces (see also: xiangqi) (layout · text) | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
general | advisor | elephant | horse | chariot | cannon | soldier |
VerbEdit
general (third-person singular simple present generals, present participle generalling or generaling, simple past and past participle generalled or generaled)
AdverbEdit
general (not comparable)
- (obsolete) In a general or collective manner or sense; in most cases; upon the whole.
Derived termsEdit
- abbot general
- accountant general
- adjutant general
- adjutant-general
- advocate general
- agent general
- annual general meeting
- artificial general intelligence
- attorney general
- attorney-general
- bond for general purposes
- brigadier general
- buck general
- captain general
- caviar to the general
- colonel general
- commanding general
- commissary general
- consul general
- consul-general
- consulate general
- director general
- director-general
- dynamic stochastic general equilibrium
- extraordinary general meeting
- farmer-general
- floor general
- general anaesthesia
- general anaesthetic
- general assembly
- general availability
- general aviation
- general cargo
- general classification
- general continued fraction
- general contractor
- general delivery
- general education
- general election
- general formula
- general goods
- general hospital
- general insurer
- general intelligent action
- general issue
- general knowledge
- general ledger
- general line
- general linear group
- general manager
- general office
- general officer
- general paralysis
- general paralysis of the insane
- general paresis
- general paresis of the insane
- general partnership
- general population
- general practice
- general practitioner
- general public
- general relativity
- general retainer
- general secretary
- general semantics
- general staff
- general store
- general strike
- general studies
- general surgery
- general warrant
- general-purpose
- generalisation, generalization
- generalise, generalize
- generality
- generally
- gold general
- governor-general, governor general
- heir general
- in general
- inspector general
- lieutenant general
- major general
- major-general
- out-general
- paper general
- postmaster general
- receiver-general
- registrar-general
- secretary general
- secretary-general
- sergeant major general, sergeant-major general
- silver general
- solicitor general
- surgeon general
- surgeon-general
- surveyor general
- vicar-general
- witchfinder general
AnagramsEdit
AzerbaijaniEdit
Alternative formsEdit
- yaranal (archaic)
EtymologyEdit
Ultimately from Latin generālis.
PronunciationEdit
NounEdit
general (definite accusative generalı, plural generallar)
DeclensionEdit
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 |
Further readingEdit
- “general” in Obastan.com.
CatalanEdit
EtymologyEdit
PronunciationEdit
AdjectiveEdit
general (masculine and feminine plural generals)
NounEdit
general m (plural generals, feminine generala)
Derived termsEdit
Further readingEdit
- “general” in Diccionari de la llengua catalana, segona edició, Institut d’Estudis Catalans.
- “general”, in Gran Diccionari de la Llengua Catalana, Grup Enciclopèdia Catalana, 2023
- “general” in Diccionari normatiu valencià, Acadèmia Valenciana de la Llengua.
- “general” in Diccionari català-valencià-balear, Antoni Maria Alcover and Francesc de Borja Moll, 1962.
DanishEdit
NounEdit
general c (singular definite generalen, plural indefinite generaler)
InflectionEdit
common gender |
Singular | Plural | ||
---|---|---|---|---|
indefinite | definite | indefinite | definite | |
nominative | general | generalen | generaler | generalerne |
genitive | generals | generalens | generalers | generalernes |
LadinEdit
AdjectiveEdit
general m (feminine singular generala, masculine plural generai, feminine plural generales)
Middle EnglishEdit
Alternative formsEdit
EtymologyEdit
From a mixture of Anglo-Norman general, Middle French general, and Latin generālis.
PronunciationEdit
AdjectiveEdit
general
- universal, complete
- comprehensive, wide-ranging
- general, widely useable or applicable
- common, widely present
Derived termsEdit
DescendantsEdit
ReferencesEdit
- “ǧenerāl, adj. & n.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007, retrieved 2018-04-01.
NounEdit
general (plural generals)
ReferencesEdit
- “ǧenerāl, adj. & n.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007, retrieved 2018-04-01.
Norwegian BokmålEdit
NounEdit
general m (definite singular generalen, indefinite plural generaler, definite plural generalene)
Derived termsEdit
Norwegian NynorskEdit
NounEdit
general m (definite singular generalen, indefinite plural generalar, definite plural generalane)
Derived termsEdit
Old FrenchEdit
EtymologyEdit
Borrowed from Latin generālis.
NounEdit
general m (oblique plural generaus or generax or generals, nominative singular generaus or generax or generals, nominative plural general)
AdjectiveEdit
general m (oblique and nominative feminine singular generale)
- general (not limited in use or application; applicable to the whole or every member of a class or category)
DeclensionEdit
DescendantsEdit
PortugueseEdit
EtymologyEdit
Learned borrowing from Latin generālis. Doublet of geral.
PronunciationEdit
NounEdit
general m (plural generais, feminine generala, feminine plural generalas)
DescendantsEdit
- → Tetum: jenerál
Further readingEdit
- “general” in Dicionário Priberam da Língua Portuguesa.
RomanianEdit
EtymologyEdit
Borrowed from French général, from Latin generālis.
PronunciationEdit
NounEdit
general m (plural generali)
DeclensionEdit
singular | plural | |||
---|---|---|---|---|
indefinite articulation | definite articulation | indefinite articulation | definite articulation | |
nominative/accusative | (un) general | generalul | (niște) generali | generalii |
genitive/dative | (unui) general | generalului | (unor) generali | generalilor |
vocative | generalule | generalilor |
AdjectiveEdit
general m or n (feminine singular generală, masculine plural generali, feminine and neuter plural generale)
DeclensionEdit
singular | plural | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
masculine | neuter | feminine | masculine | neuter | feminine | ||
nominative/ accusative |
indefinite | general | generală | generali | generale | ||
definite | generalul | generala | generalii | generalele | |||
genitive/ dative |
indefinite | general | generale | generali | generale | ||
definite | generalului | generalei | generalilor | generalelor |
Related termsEdit
Serbo-CroatianEdit
EtymologyEdit
From German General, from Latin generālis.
PronunciationEdit
NounEdit
genèrāl m (Cyrillic spelling генѐра̄л)
DeclensionEdit
singular | plural | |
---|---|---|
nominative | genèrāl | generali |
genitive | generála | generala |
dative | generalu | generalima |
accusative | generala | generale |
vocative | generale | generali |
locative | generalu | generalima |
instrumental | generalom | generalima |
SloveneEdit
EtymologyEdit
From German General, from Latin generālis.
PronunciationEdit
NounEdit
generȃl m anim (female equivalent generȃlica or generȃlka)
InflectionEdit
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 readingEdit
- “general”, in Slovarji Inštituta za slovenski jezik Frana Ramovša ZRC SAZU, portal Fran
SpanishEdit
EtymologyEdit
PronunciationEdit
AdjectiveEdit
general (plural generales)
Derived termsEdit
- anestesia general
- capitán general
- capitanía general
- consulado general
- Cortes Senerales
- cuartel general
- dirección general
- en general
- en líneas generales
- ensayo general
- equilibrio general dinámico estocástico
- estado general
- estudio general
- gastos generales
- generalidad
- generalización
- generalizar
- generalmente
- gobernador general
- huelga general
- inquisidor general
- plano general
- por lo general
- por punto general
- por regla general
- procurador síndico general
- relatividad general
- teniente general
- vicario general
- visión general
- voluntad general
NounEdit
general m (plural generales, feminine general or generala, feminine plural generales or generalas)
Derived termsEdit
DescendantsEdit
Further readingEdit
- “general”, in Diccionario de la lengua española, Vigésima tercera edición, Real Academia Española, 2014
SwedishEdit
EtymologyEdit
From German General, from Old French general, from Latin generālis.
PronunciationEdit
NounEdit
general c
- a general; a military title[1]
- an Air Chief Marshal[1]
DeclensionEdit
Declension of general | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Singular | Plural | |||
Indefinite | Definite | Indefinite | Definite | |
Nominative | general | generalen | generaler | generalerna |
Genitive | generals | generalens | generalers | generalernas |
DescendantsEdit
- → Finnish: kenraali
ReferencesEdit
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Utrikes namnbok (7th ed., 2007) →ISBN