general
adj
1 common; widespread
a general feeling of horror at the crime
2 of, including, applying to, or participated in by all or most of the members of a group, category, or community
3 relating to various branches of an activity, profession, etc.; not specialized
general office work
4 including various or miscellaneous items
general knowledge, a general store
5 not specific as to detail; overall
a general description of the merchandise
6 not definite; vague
give me a general idea of when you will finish
7 applicable or true in most cases; usual
8 prenominal or immediately postpositive having superior or extended authority or rank
general manager, consul general
9 (Also)
pass designating a degree awarded at some universities, studied at a lower academic standard than an honours degree
See →
honours →
2
10 (Med) relating to or involving the entire body or many of its parts; systemic
11 (Logic) (of a statement) not specifying an individual subject but quantifying over a domain
n
12 an officer of a rank senior to lieutenant general, esp. one who commands a large military formation
13 any person acting as a leader and applying strategy or tactics
14 a general condition or principle: opposed to particular
15 a title for the head of a religious order, congregation, etc.
16 (Med) short for →
general anaesthetic
17 Archaic the people; public
18 ♦
in general generally; mostly or usually (C13: from Latin generalis of a particular kind, from genus kind) ♦
generalness n
adjutant general
n pl , adjutants general
a a member of the Army Board responsible for personnel and administrative functions
b a general's executive officer
2 (U.S. army) the adjutant of a military unit with general staff
agent-general
n pl , agents-general a representative in London of a Canadian province or an Australian state
annual general meeting
n (Brit) the statutory meeting of the directors and shareholders of a company or of the members of a society, held once every financial year, at which the annual report is presented, (Abbrev.)
AGM
attorney general
n pl , attorneys general, attorney generals
1 a country's chief law officer and senior legal adviser to its government
2 (in the U.S.) the chief law officer and legal adviser of a state government
3 (in some states of the U.S.) a public prosecutor
Attorney General
n
1 (in the United Kingdom except Scotland) the senior law officer and chief legal counsel of the Crown: a member of the government and of the House of Commons
2 (in the U.S.) the chief law officer and legal adviser to the Administration: head of the Department of Justice and member of the cabinet
3 (in Australia and New Zealand) the chief government law officer: a member of Parliament and usually a cabinet minister
brigadier general
n pl , brigadier generals
1 an officer of the U.S. Army, Air Force, or Marine Corps who holds a rank junior to a major general but senior to a colonel, usually commanding a brigade
2 the former name for a →
brigadier →
1
consul general
n pl , consuls general a consul of the highest grade, usually stationed in a city of considerable commercial importance
cook-general
n pl , cooks-general (Brit) (formerly, esp. in the 1920s and '30s) a domestic servant who did cooking and housework
director-general
n pl , directors-general the head of a large organization such as the CBI or BBC
Estates General
n See →
States General
extraordinary general meeting
n a meeting specially called to discuss a particular item of a company's business, usually one of some importance. The meeting may be called by a group of shareholders or by the directors, (Abbrev.)
EGM
farmer-general
n pl , farmers-general (in France before 1789) a member of a group allowed to farm certain taxes
♦
farmer-generalship n
general anaesthetic
n a drug producing anaesthesia of the entire body, with loss of consciousness
General Assembly
n
1 the deliberative assembly of the United Nations, (Abbrev.)
GA
2 the former name for the parliament of New Zealand
3 the supreme governing body of certain religious denominations, esp. of the Presbyterian Church
general average
n (Insurance) loss or damage to a ship or its cargo that is shared among the shipowners and all the cargo owners, (Abbrev.)
GA Compare →
particular average
General Certificate of Education
n See →
GCE
General Certificate of Secondary Education
n See →
GCSE
general delivery
n the U.S. and Canadian equivalent of →
poste restante
general election
n
1 an election in which representatives are chosen in all constituencies of a state
2 (U.S.) a final election from which successful candidates are sent to a legislative body
Compare →
primary
3 (U.S. and Canadian) (in the U.S.) a national or state election or (in Canada) a federal or provincial election in contrast to a local election
general hospital
n a hospital not specializing in the treatment of particular illnesses or of patients of a particular sex or age group
general officer
n an officer holding a commission of brigadier's rank or above in the army, air force, or marine corps
general paralysis of the insane
n a disease of the central nervous system: a late manifestation of syphilis, often occurring up to 15 years after the original infection, characterized by mental deterioration, speech defects, and progressive paralysis, (Abbrev.)
GPI (Also called)
general paresis, dementia paralytica
General Post Office
n
1 (in Britain until 1969) the department of the central Government that provided postal and telephone services
2 the main post office in a locality
general practitioner
n a physician who does not specialize but has a medical practice (general practice) in which he treats all illnesses, (Informal name)
family doctor (Abbrev.)
GP
general-purpose
adj having a range of uses or applications; not restricted to one function
general semantics
n functioning as sing a school of thought, founded by Alfred Korzybski, that stresses the arbitrary nature of language and other symbols and the problems that result from misunderstanding their nature
general staff
n officers assigned to advise commanders in the planning and execution of military operations
general strike
n a strike by all or most of the workers of a country, province, city, etc., esp. (caps.) such a strike that took place in Britain in 1926
General Synod
n the governing body, under Parliament, of the Church of England, made up of the bishops and elected clerical and lay representatives
general theory of relativity
n the theory of gravitation, developed by Einstein in 1916, extending the special theory of relativity to include acceleration and leading to the conclusion that gravitational forces are equivalent to forces caused by acceleration
general will
n (in the philosophy of Rousseau) the source of legitimate authority residing in the collective will as contrasted with individual interests
governor general
n pl , governors general, governor generals
1 the representative of the Crown in a dominion of the Commonwealth or a British colony; vicegerent
2 (Brit) a governor with jurisdiction or precedence over other governors
♦
governor-generalship n
Inquisitor-General
n pl , Inquisitors-General the head of the Spanish court of Inquisition
inspector general
n pl , inspectors general
1 the head of an inspectorate or inspection system; an officer with wide investigative powers
2 a staff officer of the military, air, or naval service with the responsibility of conducting inspections and investigations
judge advocate general
n pl , judge advocates general, judge advocate generals the civil adviser to the Crown on matters relating to courts martial and on military law generally
lieutenant general
n an officer holding commissioned rank in certain armies, air forces, and marine corps immediately junior to a general
major general
n (Military) an officer immediately junior to a lieutenant general
♦
major-generalship, major-generalcy n
postmaster general
n pl , postmasters general the executive head of the postal service in certain countries
Registered General Nurse
n (in Britain) a nurse who has completed a three-year training course in all aspects of nursing care to enable the nurse to be registered with the United Kingdom Central Council for Nursing, Midwifery, and Health Visiting, (Abbrev)
RGN
secretary-general
n pl , secretaries-general a chief administrative official, as of the United Nations
Solicitor General
n pl , Solicitors General
1 (in Britain) the law officer of the Crown ranking next to the Attorney General (in Scotland to the Lord Advocate) and acting as his assistant
2 (in New Zealand) the government's chief lawyer: head of the Crown Law Office and prosecutor for the Crown
States General
pl n
1 the bicameral legislature of the Netherlands
a an assembly of the estates of an entire country in contrast to those of a single province
b (Also called)
Estates General the assembly of the estates of all France, last meeting in 1789
c the sovereign body of the Dutch republic from the 16th to 18th century
surgeon general
n pl , surgeons general
1 (in the British, U.S., and certain other armies and navies) the senior officer of the medical service
2 the head of the public health service in the U.S.
Valuer General
n (Austral) a state official who values properties for rating purposes
vicar general
n pl , vicars general an official, usually a layman, appointed to assist the bishop of a diocese in discharging his administrative or judicial duties