general definition

English general definition

Alternative forms

• generall (chiefly archaic)

Etymology

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

• (UK, US) IPA^(key): /ˈd͡ʒɛnɹəl/
• (US) IPA^(key): /ˈd͡ʒɛnəɹəl/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

• Rhymes: (US) -ɛnəɹəl
• Hyphenation: gene‧ral, gen‧er‧al

Adjective

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, 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.

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, 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 […] .

3. 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.

4. 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).

5. 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.

6. 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 […] .

Synonyms

• (involving every part or member): broad, generic; see also Thesaurus:generic
• (prevalent or widespread): typical; see also Thesaurus:common

Antonyms

• (involving every part or member): particular, specific; see also Thesaurus:specific
• (prevalent or widespread): abnormal, uncommon

Derived terms

Related terms

• universal
• common

Translations

Noun

general (countable and uncountable, plural generals)

1. (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.

2. (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.]
3. A great strategist or tactician. [from 16th c.]

   Hannibal was one of the greatest generals of the ancient world.

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.]
   • 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 222017629, page 18:

     My general is sister to your second housemaid.

7. (countable) A general anesthetic.
8. (uncountable) General anesthesia.
9. (uncountable, insurance) The general insurance industry.

   I work in general.

Usage notes

When used as a title, it is always capitalized.

Example: General John Doe.

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

Hyponyms

(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 terms

• (insurance industry): health, life, pensions

Translations

See also

• hetman

Verb

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

general (not comparable)

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

Anagrams

• enlarge, gleaner, reangle

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Catalan general definition

Etymology

From Latin generālis.

Pronunciation

• (Balearic, Central) IPA^(key): /ʒə.nəˈɾal/
• (Valencian) IPA^(key): /d͡ʒe.neˈɾal/

Adjective

general (masculine and feminine plural generals)

1. general

Noun

general m (plural generals, feminine generala)

1. (military) general

Derived terms

Further reading

• “general” in Diccionari de la llengua catalana, segona edició, Institut d’Estudis Catalans.
• “general”, in Gran Diccionari de la Llengua Catalana, Grup Enciclopèdia Catalana, 2022
• “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.

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Danish general definition

Noun

general c (singular definite generalen, plural indefinite generaler)

1. general

Inflection

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Ladin general definition

Adjective

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

1. general

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Middle English general definition

Alternative forms

• generall, generale

Etymology

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

Pronunciation

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

Adjective

general

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

Derived terms

• generally

Descendants

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

References

• “ǧenerāl, adj. & n.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007, retrieved 2018-04-01.

Noun

general (plural generals)

1. genus, class, group

References

• “ǧenerāl, adj. & n.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007, retrieved 2018-04-01.

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Norwegian Bokmål general definition

Noun

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

1. (military) a general

Derived terms

• generalguvernør

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Norwegian Nynorsk general definition

Noun

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

1. (military) a general

Derived terms

• generalguvernør

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Old French general definition

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin generālis.

Noun

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

1. (military) general

Adjective

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

Descendants

• → English: general
• French: général

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Portuguese general definition

Etymology

Learned borrowing from Latin generālis. Doublet of geral.

Pronunciation

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

Noun

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

1. (military) general

Descendants

• → Tetum: jenerál

Further reading

• “general” in Dicionário Priberam da Língua Portuguesa.

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Romanian general definition

Etymology

Borrowed from French général, from Latin generālis.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /d͡ʒe.neˈral/

Noun

general m (plural generali)

1. general

Declension

Adjective

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

1. general

Declension

Related terms

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Serbo-Croatian general definition

Etymology

From German General, from Latin generālis.

Pronunciation

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

Noun

genèrāl m (Cyrillic spelling генѐра̄л)

1. (military) general

Declension

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Slovene general definition

Etymology

From German General, from Latin generālis.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɡɛnɛráːl/

Noun

generȃl m anim (female equivalent generȃlica or generȃlka)

1. (military) general

Inflection

Masculine anim., hard o-stem
nom. sing.	generál
gen. sing.	generála
	singular	dual	plural
nominative	generál	generála	generáli
accusative	generála	generála	generále
genitive	generála	generálov	generálov
dative	generálu	generáloma	generálom
locative	generálu	generálih	generálih
instrumental	generálom	generáloma	generáli

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Spanish general definition

Etymology

From Latin generālis.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /xeneˈɾal/, [xe.neˈɾal]

Adjective

general (plural generales)

1. general, overall

Derived terms

Noun

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

1. (military) general

Descendants

• → Cebuano: heneral
• → Tagalog: heneral

Further reading

• “general”, in Diccionario de la lengua española, Vigésima tercera edición, Real Academia Española, 2014

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Swedish general definition

Etymology

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

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /jɛn(ɛ)ˈrɑːl/

• Audio

  (file)

Noun

general c

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

Declension

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

Descendants

• → Finnish: kenraali

References