1. The whole; the total; that which comprehends or relates to all, or the chief part; — opposed to particular.
In particulars our knowledge begins, and so spreads itself by degrees to generals.
Locke. 2. (Mil.) One of the chief military officers of a government or country; the commander of an army, of
a body of men not less than a brigade. In European armies, the highest military rank next below field
marshal.
In the United States the office of General of the Army has been created by temporary laws, and has
been held only by Generals U. S. Grant, W. T. Sherman, and P. H. Sheridan. Popularly, the title General
is given to various general officers, as General, Lieutenant general, Major general, Brigadier general,
Commissary general, etc. See Brigadier general, Lieutenant general, Major general, in the Vocabulary.
3. (Mil.) The roll of the drum which calls the troops together; as, to beat the general.
4. (Eccl.) The chief of an order of monks, or of all the houses or congregations under the same rule.
5. The public; the people; the vulgar. [Obs.] Shak.
In general, in the main; for the most part.
Generalia
(||Gen`e*ra"li*a) n. pl. [Neut. pl., fr. L. generalis.] Generalities; general terms. J. S. Mill.
Generalissimo
(Gen`er*al*is"si*mo) n. [It., superl. of generale general. See General, a.] The chief
commander of an army; especially, the commander in chief of an army consisting of two or more grand
divisions under separate commanders; — a title used in most foreign countries.
Generality
(Gen`er*al"i*ty) n.; pl. Generalities [L. generalitas: cf. F. généralité. Cf. Generalty.]
1. The state of being general; the quality of including species or particulars. Hooker.
2. That which is general; that which lacks specificalness, practicalness, or application; a general or vague
statement or phrase.
Let us descend from generalities to particulars.
Landor.
The glittering and sounding generalities of natural right which make up the Declaration of Independence.
R. Choate. 3. The main body; the bulk; the greatest part; as, the generality of a nation, or of mankind.
Generalizable
(Gen"er*al*i`za*ble) a. Capable of being generalized, or reduced to a general form of
statement, or brought under a general rule.
Extreme cases are . . . not generalizable.
Coleridge Generalization
(Gen`er*al*i*za"tion) n. [Cf. F. généralisation.]
1. The act or process of generalizing; the act of bringing individuals or particulars under a genus or class; deduction
of a general principle from particulars.
Generalization is only the apprehension of the one in the many.
Sir W. Hamilton. 2. A general inference.
Generalize
(Gen"er*al*ize) v. t. [imp. & p. p. Generalized ; p. pr. & vb. n. Generalizing ] [Cf. F.
généraliser.]
