generalize

Etymology

It is formed from English general + -ize,^[2][3][4][5] in its first, Middle English use on the model of Medieval Latin generalizō, which the Latin text of Guy de Chauliac that the first quotation translates has in 1363.^[2] The Middle English verb was generalisen.^[6][7] Etymonline takes the modern verb of 1751 as probably a new formation from general and -ize,^[7] while Merriam-Webster Unabridged derives it from French généraliser,^[8] which the OED compares, recorded in French from before 1612.^[2][3]

Earliest recorded meaning

To make a statement of general application: about 1425, in a translation of Guy de Chauliac's Grande Chirurgie, where medical authorities "generalizeþ a notable worde" about scabious.^[2][6] The OED marks this sense obsolete and rare.^[2]

Semantic evolution

After the single Middle English record, the verb returned in the 18th century:^[2][7] in 1710 Berkeley used it of turning an idea or perception into a general concept,^[2] and in 1756 it meant to bring into general use or make widespread.^[2] The intransitive sense, to form general notions or conclusions from particular cases, followed in 1771 (Etymonline gives 1785),^[2][7] and to draw a general conclusion from a single instance in 1778.^[2] Webster (1828) defined it as extending from particulars or species to whole kinds or classes.^[9] The 19th century added mathematical use, of extending a theorem (1812), and the painter's sense of rendering the typical rather than the individual features of a subject (before 1825).^[2] In medicine, of a disease, it came to mean to spread through the body, or to change from a local condition to a systemic one.^[10] Collins also records the sense of speaking in generalities, especially in a prejudiced way.^[10]

Timeline

• c. 1425 – to make a statement general (now obsolete).^[2][6]
• 1710 – to extend so as to make more general; to turn into a general concept.^[2]
• 1751 – to make general, bring under a general description.^[7][8]
• 1756 – to bring into general use, to make widespread.^[2]
• 1771 – intransitive, to form general notions or conclusions.^[2] Etymonline dates this sense to 1785.^[7]
• 1778 – to deduce a general rule from a specific instance.^[2]
• 1812 – in mathematics and philosophy, to extend a proposition or theorem.^[2]
• before 1825 – in painting, to render the general rather than the individual features.^[2]

Meanings

Verb

1. To form a general principle or conclusion from particular facts or cases; to infer: We cannot generalize from a single survey.^[10][8][2]
2. To speak or think in generalities, especially in a prejudiced way.^[10]
3. To make something general; to reduce to general laws, or extend its application to a wider class: The theorem was later generalized to three dimensions.^[8][2]
4. To bring into general use; to make widespread or familiar.^[10][2]
5. (medicine) Of a disease, to spread through the body, or to change from a local condition to a systemic one.^[10]

Word family

• generalizability
• generalizable
• generalizer
• generalization
• overgeneralize

Related words

• general
• generality
• specialize

Usage notes

The spelling generalise is chiefly British.^[5][10] In 19th-century British slang generalize was also a back slang word for a shilling.^[11]

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
3. ^ a b Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
4. ^ Stevenson, Angus, ed. (2010), Oxford Dictionary of English, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
5. ^ a b Dictionary.com Unabridged (2016), based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House
6. ^ a b c Kurath, Hans; Kuhn, Sherman M.; Lewis, Robert E., eds. (1952–2001), Middle English Dictionary, Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press; online edition ed. Frances McSparran et al. (2000–2018)
7. ^ a b c d e f Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
8. ^ a b c d Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
9. ^ Webster, Noah (1828), An American Dictionary of the English Language, New York: S. Converse
10. ^ a b c d e f g Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins
11. ^ Green, Jonathon (2010), Green's Dictionary of Slang, London: Chambers; digital ed. 2016–, https://greensdictofslang.com