general
The holder of a senior military title, originally designating the commander of an army…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.
Recorded: Dvortygirl, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
Meaning
6 senses(countable, uncountable)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.
General Eisenhower was the first SACEUR.
(countable, uncountable)The head of certain religious orders, especially Dominicans or Jesuits.
the head of a religious order or congregation
(countable, uncountable)A great strategist or tactician.
Hannibal was one of the greatest generals of the ancient world.
More meanings 3
(countable, uncountable)The equivalent of a king in Chinese chess, the xiangqi piece that is confined to the palace, moves orthogonally one point at a time, and whose loss decides the game.
(archaic, countable, uncountable)A general fact or proposition; a generality.
We have dealt with the generals; now let us turn to the particulars.
(countable, obsolete, uncountable)Synonym of admiral, a senior naval title, a great naval strategist or tactician.
Origin
From Middle English general, in turn from Anglo-Norman general, generall, Middle French geFrom Middle English general, in turn from Anglo-Norman general, generall, Middle French general, and their source, Latin generālis, from genus (“class, kind”) + -ālis (“-al”).
Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · source
Forms
plural: generalsSynonyms
3 synonyms- a general officer of the highest rank:full general
- the head of a religious order or congregation:superior general
Antonyms
2 antonymsWord family
2 related wordsLessons for this word
1 lessons- A1Countable and uncountable nouns — Because it can be uncountable
See also
neighbours in the dictionaryDictionary text adapted from Wiktionary (Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0) and Open English WordNet / Princeton WordNet (CC BY 4.0, WordNet License); shared under CC BY-SA 4.0. Example sentences and recordings are credited where they appear.