generally

English

Etymology

From Middle English generally, generalliche, equivalent to general +‎ -ly.

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /ˈd͡ʒɛn.ɹə.liː/, IPA^(key): /ˈd͡ʒɛn.ə.ɹə.li/
• (US) IPA^(key): /ˈd͡ʒɛn.ɚ.li/, IPA^(key): /ˈd͡ʒɛn.ɚ.ə.li/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

Adverb

generally (comparative more generally, superlative most generally)

1. Popularly or widely.

   It is generally known that the Earth is round.

2. As a rule; usually.

   I generally have a walk in the afternoon.

   • 1661, John Fell, The Life of the most learned, reverend and pious Dr. H. Hammond

     During the whole time of his abode in the university he generally spent thirteen hours of the day in study; by which assiduity besides an exact dispatch of the whole course of philosophy, he read over in a manner all classic authors that are extant […]

   • 1897 December (indicated as 1898), Winston Churchill, chapter I, in The Celebrity: An Episode, New York, N.Y.: The Macmillan Company; London: Macmillan & Co., Ltd., OCLC 222716698, page 2:

     He used to drop into my chambers once in a while to smoke, and was first-rate company. When I gave a dinner there was generally a cover laid for him. I liked the man for his own sake, and even had he promised to turn out a celebrity it would have had no weight with me.

   • 1922, Michael Arlen, “3/19/2”, in “Piracy”: A Romantic Chronicle of These Days:

     Ivor had acquired more than a mile of fishing rights with the house ; he was not at all a good fisherman, but one must do something ; one generally, however, banged a ball with a squash-racket against a wall.

3. Without reference to specific details.

   Generally speaking …

   • 1848, Charles Dickens, Dombey and Son

     “There ain’t no drain of nothing short handy, is there?” said the Chicken, generally. “This here sluicing night is hard lines to a man as lives on his condition.”
     Captain Cuttle proffered a glass of rum […]

4. In the general case, without exception.

   It is generally true that the angles of a triangle sum to 180 degrees.

5. (obsolete) Collectively; as a whole; without omissions.
   • 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], OCLC 964384981, 2 Samuel 17:11:

     I counsel that all Israel be generally gathered unto thee.

Synonyms

• (popularly or widely): commonly
• (as a rule; usually): basically, by and large, commonly, ordinarily, mostly, regularly, wontedly; see also Thesaurus:mostly or Thesaurus:usually or Thesaurus:normally
• (without reference to specific details): generically; see also Thesaurus:generally
• (collectively): collaboratively, en masse; see also Thesaurus:jointly

Translations

popularly or widely

• Arabic: عُمُومًا‎ (ʿumūman)
• Armenian: ընդհանրապես (hy) (əndhanrapes)
• Azerbaijani: ümumilikdə, ümumiyyətlə, ümumiyyətcə, ümumiliklə
• Bashkir: ғөмүмән (ğömümän)
• Catalan: generalment (ca)
• Finnish: yleensä (fi), tavallisesti (fi)
• French: généralement (fr), en général (fr)
• Galician: xeralmente (gl)
• Georgian: ფართოდ (partod), ზოგადად (zogadad)
• German: allgemein (de), gewöhnlich (de), im Allgemeinen (de)
• Indonesian: secara umum
• Italian: in genere (it), generalmente (it)
• Japanese: 広く (ひろく, hiroku), 汎く (あまねく, amaneku), 通常 (ja) (tsūjō), 一般に (ja) (ippan ni)
• Latin: plērumque

• Maltese: ġeneralment
• Middle English: generally
• Occitan: generalament
• Old English: ġewunelīċe
• Polish: powszechnie (pl)
• Portuguese: geralmente (pt), em geral
• Russian: вообще́ (ru) (voobščé), широко́ (ru) (širokó)
• Scottish Gaelic: san fharsaingeachd
• Serbo-Croatian: opće (sh)
• Spanish: generalmente (es), por lo general
• Turkish: genellikle (tr)
• Yiddish: בכלל‎ (bikhlal)

as a rule; usually

• Armenian: սովորաբար (hy) (sovorabar), ընդհանրապես (hy) (əndhanrapes)
• Azerbaijani: ümumilikdə, ümumiyyətlə, ümumiyyətcə, ümumiliklə, bir qayda olaraq, ümumən
• Bashkir: ғәҙәттә (ğäðättä)
• Breton: peurvuiañ (br), peurliesañ (br)
• Bulgarian: обикновено (bg) (obiknoveno)
• Catalan: generalment (ca)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 通常 (zh) (tōngcháng), 一般 (zh) (yībān)

• Dutch: in het algemeen
• Esperanto: ĝenerale
• Finnish: yleensä (fi), tavallisesti (fi)
• French: généralement (fr)
• Galician: xeralmente (gl)
• Georgian: როგორც წესი (rogorc c̣esi), საერთოდ (saertod), ჩვეულებრივ (čveulebriv)
• German: hauptsächlich (de), überhaupt (de), üblicherweise (de)
• Greek: συνήθως (el) (syníthos)
• Hebrew: בְּדֶּרֶךְ כְּלָל‎ (he) (b'dérech klal), בד"כ‎ (acronym)
• Hungarian: általában (hu)

• Indonesian: biasanya (id)
• Italian: in genere (it), di solito (it)
• Japanese: 通常 (ja) (tsūjō), 一般に (ja) (ippan ni)
• Latin: ferē (la), fermē
• Maori: ko te tikanga
• Middle English: generally
• Old English: ġewunelīċe
• Polish: zwykle (pl), zazwyczaj (pl), z reguły (pl)
• Portuguese: geralmente (pt), em geral
• Russian: обы́чно (ru) (obýčno), как пра́вило (ru) (kak právilo)
• Scottish Gaelic: san fharsaingeachd
• Serbo-Croatian: obično (sh)
• Spanish: generalmente (es), por lo general
• Swedish: i största allmänhet
• Turkish: çoğunlukla (tr)
• Ukrainian: зазвича́й (zazvyčáj), як пра́вило (jak právylo)
• Volapük: in valem
• Walloon: å pus sovint (wa)
• Yiddish: בכלל‎ (bikhlal)

without reference to specific details

• Armenian: ընդհանրապես (hy) (əndhanrapes)
• Azerbaijani: ümumilikdə, ümumiyyətlə, ümumiyyətcə, ümumiliklə
• Bashkir: дөйөм (döyöm), ғөмүмән (ğömümän)
• Bulgarian: общо взето (obšto vzeto)
• Finnish: yleisesti (fi)
• French: généralement (fr)
• Georgian: ზოგადად (zogadad), მეტწილად (meṭc̣ilad)
• German: allgemein (de), generell (de)
• Greek: γενικά (el) (geniká)
• Hungarian: általánosságban
• Indonesian: umumnya (id)
• Irish: de ghnáth

• Italian: in generale, a grandi linee
• Japanese: 通常 (ja) (tsūjō), 一般に (ja) (ippan ni), 大まかに (ōmaka ni)
• Middle English: generally
• Polish: ogólnie (pl)
• Portuguese: de modo geral, em geral
• Russian: вообще́ (ru) (voobščé), по большо́му счёту (ru) (po bolʹšómu sčótu)
• Scottish Gaelic: san fharsaingeachd
• Serbo-Croatian: općenito (sh)
• Spanish: generalmente (es)
• Ukrainian: взагалі́ (vzahalí), в ціло́му (uk) (v cilómu)

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Middle English

Alternative forms

• generali, generaliche, generallich, generalliche, generaly, generalyche

Etymology

From general +‎ -ly (adverbial suffix).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˌdʒɛnəˈraː(l)liː/, /ˈdʒɛnəra(l)liː/, /-liːtʃ(ə)/

Adverb

generally

1. exceptionlessly, always (without exception)
2. widely, usually (as a rule)
3. generally (without reference to detail)

Descendants

• English: generally

References

• “ǧenerāllī, adv.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007.