general

See also: General, General-, generál, général, and generał

English

Alternative forms

• generall (chiefly archaic)

Etymology

From Anglo-Norman general, generall, Middle French general, and their source, Latin generālis, from genus (“class, kind”) + -ālis (“-al”).

Pronunciation

• (UK, US) IPA^(key): /ˈdʒɛnɹəl/
• (US) IPA^(key): /ˈdʒɛnəɹəl/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

• Hyphenation: 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, 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’", Cakes and Ale:

     "Among us!" was the general shout, and Peppersorn sat frozen to his chair.

   • 1946, Bertrand Russell, History of Western Philosophy, I.27:

     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, Ruth Sutherland, "Invite public to the private equity party", The Observer, 15 Oct 06:

     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. 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, p. 527:

     For these successes he obtained the rank of Field-Marshal General.

   • 2002, James Turner, Libertines and Radicals in Early Modern London, p. 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, Walter Scott, Rob Roy, IX:

     ‘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, John Patterson, "Home movies", The Guardian, 20 Dec 08:

     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, Time, 17 Mar 1924:

     M. Venizelos went to Athens from Paris early last January in response to a general invitation from the Greek populace.

   • 2009, Douglas P Zipes, Saturday Evening Post, vol. 281:1, p. 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, Walter Scott, Rob Roy, X:

     As she thus spoke, the entrance of the servants with dinner cut off all conversation but that of a general nature.

   • 2006, Kevin Nance, "Ghosts of the White City", Chicago Sun-Times, 16 Jul 06:

     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", America, vol. 199:19, p. 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, W Somerset Maugham, Up at the Villa, Vintage 2004, p. 24:

     There was a moment's pause. The Princess broke in with some casual remark and once more the conversation became general.

   • 1947, "Russian Catechism", Time, 20 Oct 1947:

     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, Alan Cheuse, "A Little Death", Southern Review, vol. 43:3, p. 692:

     His measured, springless walk was the walk of the skilled countryman as distinct from the desultory shamble of the general labourer [...].

Antonyms

• particular
• specific

Derived terms

• agent general
• brigadier general
• colonel general
• generality
• generally
• generalisation, generalization

• generalise, generalize
• general anaesthetic
• general knowledge
• in general
• lieutenant general
• major general

Related terms

• universal

Translations

involving every part or member, not specific or particular

• Arabic: عام (`aamm), شائع (shaa'i`)
• Asturian: xeneral
• Bashkir: дөйөм (döyöm)
• Belarusian: агу́льны m (ahúlʹny)
• Breton: hollek (br)
• Bulgarian: общ (bg) (obšt), всеобщ (bg) (vseobšt)
• Catalan: general (ca)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 一般 (zh) (yībān), 普通 (zh) (pǔtōng)

• Czech: všeobecný, obecný (cs)
• Danish: generel, almindelig (da)
• Dutch: algemeen (nl)
• Esperanto: ĝenerala (eo)
• Estonian: üldine
• Extremaduran: heneral
• Finnish: yleinen (fi)
• French: général (fr), communal (fr)
• Galician: xeral
• German: allgemein (de), generell (de)
• Greek: γενικός (el) m (genikós)
• Hungarian: általános (hu)

• Ido: generala (io)
• Indonesian: menyeluruh (id)
• Japanese: 一般 (ja) (いっぱん, ippan), 全般 (ja) (ぜんぱん, zenpan), 普通 (ja) (ふつう, futsū)
• Latin: generalis (la) m, f, generale n
• Latvian: vispārējs
• Lithuanian: bendras (lt)
• Macedonian: општ m (opšt)
• Malay: umum (ms), am (ms)
• Maori: whānui
• Norwegian: allmenn (no), generell
• Portuguese: geral (pt)
• Romanian: general (ro) m, comun (ro) m
• Russian: общий (ru) (óbščij)
• Serbo-Croatian: općènit, svȅopćī, náčelan
• Slovak: všeobecný
• Slovene: splošen (sl)
• Spanish: general (es)
• Swahili: jumla (sw)
• Swedish: generell (sv), allmän (sv)
• Volapük: valemik (vo)

of a person: pre-eminent

• French: général (fr), en chef (fr)
• Greek: γενικός (el) m (genikós)
• Malay: awam (ms)

• Portuguese: general (pt) m
• Tagalog: (literally) heneral c

widespread, common

• Esperanto: ĝenerala (eo)
• French: général (fr), universal (fr)
• Greek: γενικός (el) m (genikós)
• Hindi: सामान्य (sAmAnya)
• Indonesian: umum (id)

• Maori: tukipū
• Norwegian: allminnelig, vanlig (no)
• Portuguese: geral (pt)
• Swedish: vanlig (sv), allmän (sv), generell (sv)

not limited in application; applicable to a whole class or category

• Arabic: عمومي (`umuumiy), عام (`aamm)
• Bashkir: дөйөм (döyöm)
• Bulgarian: генерален (bg) (generalen)
• Catalan: general (ca)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 一般 (zh) (yībān), 普通 (zh) (pǔtōng), 總 (zh), 总 (zh) (zǒng)

• Czech: obecný (cs) m
• Danish: almen, generel
• Dutch: algemeen (nl)
• Finnish: yleis-
• French: général (fr)
• German: allgemein (de)
• Greek: γενικός (el) m (genikós)

• Indonesian: menyeluruh (id)
• Japanese: 一般的 (ja) (ippanteki)
• Latvian: vispārīgs
• Macedonian: општ m (opšt), генерален m (generálen)
• Norwegian: generell
• Portuguese: geral (pt)
• Russian: общий (ru) (óbščij), генеральный (ru) (generál'nyj), всеобщий (ru) (vseóbščij)
• Serbo-Croatian: sveobùhvatan, ȍpćī
• Slovak: všeobecný
• Slovene: splošen (sl)
• Swahili: majenerali (sw)
• Swedish: allmän (sv)

consisting of only the most important aspects; indefinite

• Bulgarian: главен (bg) (glaven)
• French: d'ensemble (fr)
• Greek: γενικός (el) m (genikós)

• Indonesian: umum (id)
• Portuguese: generalizado

miscellaneous, not limited to a specific class

• Bashkir: дөйөм (döyöm)
• Bulgarian: общ (bg) (obšt)
• French: général (fr)
• Greek: γενικός (el) m (genikós)

• Indonesian: umum (id)
• Swedish: allmän (sv), generell (sv)

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables, removing any numbers. Numbers do not necessarily match those in definitions. See instructions at Help:How to check translations.

Translations to be checked

• Serbo-Croatian: ^{(please verify)} generalni m, ^{(please verify)} opšti m
• Esperanto: ^{(please verify)} ĝenerala
• Estonian: ^{(please verify)} üldine
• French: ^{(please verify)} général m, ^{(please verify)} générale f
• Hebrew: ^{(please verify)} כְּלָלִי m (klali) , ^{(please verify)} כְּלָלִית f (klalit)
• Indonesian: ^{(please verify)} umum
• Italian: ^{(please verify)} generale m, f

• Korean: ^{(please verify)} 일반 (ilban)
• Kurdish: ^{(please verify)} giştî, ^{(please verify)} tevayî, ^{(please verify)} amî, ^{(please verify)} umûmî, ^{(please verify)} pirranî
• Latin: ^{(please verify)} generalis
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: ^{(please verify)} генерални m, ^{(please verify)} општи m

  Roman: ^{(please verify)} generalni m, ^{(please verify)} opšti m

• Spanish: ^{(please verify)} general
• Turkish: ^{(please verify)} genel

Noun

general (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) 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, Rebecca West, The Return of the Soldier, Virago 2014, p. 16:

     She flung at us as we sat down, ‘My general is sister to your second housemaid.’

7. A general anaesthetic; general anaesthesia.

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.

Translations

military rank

• Arabic: لواء (ar) m (liwaa')

  Egyptian Arabic: لواء m (lewa)

• Armenian: զորավար (zoravar)
• Bulgarian: генерал (bg) m (general)
• Catalan: general (ca) m
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 將軍 (zh), 将军 (jiāngjun)

• Czech: generál (cs) m
• Dutch: generaal (nl) m
• Esperanto: generalo
• Finnish: kenraali (fi)
• French: général (fr) m
• Galician: xeneral m
• German: General (de) m
• Greek: στρατηγός (el) (stratigós), πτέραρχος (ptérarchos) (airforce)
• Hebrew: גנרל m (general)
• Hungarian: generális, tábornok (hu)
• Indonesian: jendral (id)

• Italian: generale (it) m
• Japanese: 大将 (ja) (taishō), 将軍 (ja) (shōgun)
• Korean: 장군 (ko) (janggun)
• Latvian: ģenerālis m
• Lithuanian: generolas m
• Macedonian: генерал m (generál)
• Maori: tianara
• Marathi: सेनापती m (senāpati), जनरल m (janarala)
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: general m

  Nynorsk: general m

• Persian: ژنرال (fa) (zhenerâl)
• Portuguese: general (pt) m
• Russian: военачальник (ru) m (vojenačalʹnik), полководец (ru) m (polkovodec), генерал (ru) m (generál)
• Slovene: general (sl) m
• Spanish: general (es) m
• Swahili: jenerali (sw)
• Swedish: härförare (sv) c, general (sv) c
• Turkish: general (tr)

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables, removing any numbers. Numbers do not necessarily match those in definitions. See instructions at Help:How to check translations.

Translations to be checked

• Serbo-Croatian: ^{(please verify)} general m
• Estonian: ^{(please verify)} kindral
• Italian: ^{(please verify)} generale m
• Korean: ^{(please verify)} 장군 (janggun)
• Kurdish: ^{(please verify)} jeneral, ^{(please verify)} ceneral, ^{(please verify)} general

• Lithuanian: (1) ^{(please verify)} generolas m
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: ^{(please verify)} генерал m

  Roman: ^{(please verify)} general m

• Turkish: ^{(please verify)} general
• Norwegian: ^{(please verify)} general

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

Statistics

• Most common English words before 1923: why · women · cried · #355: general · king · nature · answered

Anagrams

• enlarge, gleaner

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Catalan

Etymology

From Latin generālis.

Adjective

general m, f (masculine and feminine plural generals)

1. general

Noun

general m (plural generals, feminine generala)

1. general

Derived terms

• generalitat
• generalitzar
• generalment

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Danish

Noun

general c (singular definite generalen, plural indefinite generaler)

1. general

Inflection

Inflection of general

common gender	Singular		Plural
	indefinite	definite	indefinite	definite
nominative	general	generalen	generaler	generalerne
genitive	generals	generalens	generalers	generalernes

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Ladin

Adjective

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

1. general

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Norwegian Bokmål

Noun

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

1. (military) a general

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Norwegian Nynorsk

Noun

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

1. (military) a general

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Old French

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 (feminine generale)

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

Declension

Declension of general

Number	Case	Masculine	Feminine	Neuter
Singular	Subject	generals, generaus, generax	generale	general
	Oblique	general	generale	general
Plural	Subject	general	generales	general
	Oblique	generals, generaus, generax	generales	general

Descendants

• English: general
• French: général

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Portuguese

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin generālis. See also geral, from the same source.

Pronunciation

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /ʒe.neˈɾaʊ̯/
• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /ʒɨ.nɨˈɾaɫ/
• Hyphenation: ge‧ne‧ral

Noun

general m (plural generais)

1. general

Descendants

• Tetum: jenerál

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Romanian

Etymology

Borrowing from French général, from Latin generālis.

Noun

general m (plural generali)

1. general

Declension

declension of general

	singular		plural
gender m	indefinite articulation	definite articulation	indefinite articulation	definite articulation
nominative/accusative	un general	generalul	niște generali	generalii
genitive/dative	unui general	generalului	unor generali	generalilor

Adjective

general

1. general

Related terms

• generalitate
• generaliza
• generalizm

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Serbo-Croatian

Etymology

From German General, from Latin generalis.

Pronunciation

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

Noun

genèrāl m (Cyrillic spelling генѐра̄л)

1. general (military rank)

Declension

    declension of general

	singular	plural
nominative	genèrāl	generali
genitive	generála	generala
dative	generalu	generalima
accusative	generala	generale
vocative	generale	generali
locative	generalu	generalima
instrumental	generalom	generalima

---

Slovene

Etymology

From German General, from Latin generalis.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɡɛnɛˈráːl/
• Tonal orthography: generȃl

Noun

generál m anim (genitive generála, nominative plural generáli, feminine generálica or generálinja)

1. general (military rank)

Declension

Declension of generál (masculine anim., hard o-stem)

	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

Etymology

From Latin generālis.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /xe.neˈɾal/

Adjective

general m, f (plural generales)

1. general

Derived terms

• generalidad
• generalización
• generalizar
• generalmente

Noun

general m (plural generales, feminine generala)

1. (military) general

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Swedish

Pronunciation

• Audio

  (file)

Noun

general c

1. a general
2. an Air Chief Marshal

Declension

Declension of general

	singular		plural
Common	indefinite	definite	indefinite	definite
nominative	general	generalen	generaler	generalerna
genitive	generals	generalens	generalers	generalernas