general

Forms

general m or f (masculine and feminine plural generales)^[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Latin generālis (“of a kind; general”), a learned word.^[2][3][4][1] The Latin adjective is formed on genus (“birth, race, kind”) with the suffix -ālis.^[5][1] The noun goes back to Proto-Indo-European *ǵénh₁os (“race”), from the root *ǵenh₁- (“to produce, beget”), and is related to gignō (“to beget”).^[1][5]

Corominas treats it among the learned derivatives of género.^[2][3] The same Latin word is Portuguese geral, Galician xeral, Asturian xeneral, Catalan general, French général and Italian generale.^[1][6][7][8] Nascentes calls the Portuguese form semi-learned.^[9]

Earliest recorded meaning

The earliest hit in the CDH is the Vida de Santa María Egipcíaca (c. 1215, in a 14th-century copy), of a feast anyal grande e general “yearly, great and general”.^[10][11] The Fuero de Zorita de los Canes (1218–c. 1250) uses the plural for the general assemblies of the council, and Berceo has a general concilio.^[10][2][12]

Semantic evolution

The adjective meant “common to all” from the start;^[12][10] Berceo also used it for “solemn” and “abundant”.^[12][10] Nebrija glosses it general cosa de genero, Latin generalis.^[13]

Covarrubias (1611) records the supreme head of an army or fleet, the head of a religious order, and in the universities the lecture hall, so called because it was open to all.^[14] The Diccionario de Autoridades has the same three senses and calls the army's general capitán general or generalísimo.^[15][15] The military noun is recorded in Peru in 1544.^[16] In colonial Chile general was a title of former corregidores, at first short for maestro de campo general.^[17] In Aragon general meant the customs house.^[18][19] The Academy's dictionary of 1884 adds “widely learned”, of a person.^[20]

In Cuba general is a familiar word for a boss, and in Puerto Rico it can mean a person who does despicable things.^[21][22]

Timeline

• c. 1215 – general in the Vida de Santa María Egipcíaca, known from a 14th-century copy.^[10][11]
• 1218–c. 1250 – the Fuero de Zorita de los Canes has las generales, the general assemblies.^[10]
• 1220–1250 – Corominas's date of first record, from Berceo.^[3][2]
• 1250–1279 – Alfonso X's Lapidario speaks of reglas generales.^[23]
• 1495 – first record of generalidad.^[3]
• 1544 – the military noun in Peru.^[16]
• 1600 – first record of generalísimo.^[3]
• 1611 – Covarrubias records the general of an army, of a religious order and the university hall.^[14]
• 1843 – the Academy records the Aragonese sense “customs house”.^[18]
• 1884 – the Academy's dictionary gives the etymology and the sense “widely learned”.^[20]

Meanings

Adjective

1. Common to all the members of a whole, or to many things even of different kinds; overall, universal: una huelga general.^[4][1]
2. Common, frequent, usual.^[4][24]
3. (rare) Of a person, widely learned.^[4]

Noun

1. (military) A general: an officer with the rank of capitán general, teniente general, general de división or general de brigada.^[4][1]
2. The superior of a religious order.^[4]
3. (historical) In the old universities and seminaries, a lecture hall open to all students.^[4][14]
4. (Spain) The majority of a set of things or people.^[4]
5. (informal, feminine plural) las generales: a general election.^[1]
6. (Puerto Rico) A person who does despicable things.^[22]

Word family

• generalidad
• generalizar
• generalísimo
• generalato
• generala
• generalmente

Related words

• género
• generoso
• genérico
• Latin generālis
• Portuguese geral

Usage notes

En general and por lo general mean “generally, in common” and “without going into detail”.^[18][14] The feminine of the military noun is la general or generala.^[1]

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d Corominas, Joan; Pascual, José A. (1980–1991), Diccionario crítico etimológico castellano e hispánico, 6 vols., Madrid: Gredos, p. 3, 143
3. ^ a b c d e Corominas, Joan (1973), Breve diccionario etimológico de la lengua castellana, 3rd ed., Madrid: Gredos, p. s.v. género
4. ^ a b c d e f g h Real Academia Española; Asociación de Academias de la Lengua Española (2014–), Diccionario de la lengua española, 23rd ed., online version 23.8, https://dle.rae.es, p. s.v. general
5. ^ a b Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
6. ^ Houaiss, Antônio; Villar, Mauro de Salles (2001), Dicionário Houaiss da língua portuguesa, Rio de Janeiro: Objetiva, p. s.v. geral
7. ^ Academia de la Llingua Asturiana (2000), Diccionariu de la Llingua Asturiana, Uviéu: ALLA; online at https://mas.academiadelallingua.com/diccionariu, p. s.v. xeneral
8. ^ Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
9. ^ Nascentes, Antenor (1966), Dicionário etimológico resumido, Rio de Janeiro: Instituto Nacional do Livro, p. s.v. geral
10. ^ a b c d e f Real Academia Española (2013–), Corpus del Diccionario histórico de la lengua española (CDH), version 3.1, https://apps.rae.es/CNDHE, p. s.v. general
11. ^ a b Diccionario del Español Medieval electrónico (DEMel), data publication 2026 (CC BY-SA), Universität Rostock, p. s.v. general
12. ^ a b c Lanchetas, Rufino (1900), Gramática y vocabulario de las obras de Gonzalo de Berceo, Madrid: Sucesores de Rivadeneyra, p. 389
13. ^ Nebrija, Antonio de (1513), Vocabulario español-latino, Salamanca, ed. Marina Vidal Díez (2007), Biblioteca Virtual Miguel de Cervantes, p. 359
14. ^ a b c d Covarrubias Orozco, Sebastián de (1611), Tesoro de la lengua castellana o española, Madrid: Luis Sánchez (Biblioteca Wordkers transcription, CC BY 4.0), p. 1, 904
15. ^ a b Real Academia Española (1726–1739), Diccionario de la lengua castellana (Diccionario de Autoridades), 6 vols., Madrid: Francisco del Hierro, p. 4, 40
16. ^ a b Boyd-Bowman, Peter (2003), Léxico hispanoamericano 1493–1993, ed. Ray Harris-Northall and John J. Nitti, New York: Hispanic Seminary of Medieval Studies, p. s.v. general
17. ^ Román, Manuel Antonio (1901–1918), Diccionario de chilenismos y de otras voces y locuciones viciosas, 5 vols., Santiago de Chile: Imprenta de San José, p. 15
18. ^ a b c Real Academia Española (1843), Diccionario de la lengua castellana, 9th ed., Madrid: Imprenta de D. Francisco María Fernández, p. 364
19. ^ Borao, Jerónimo (1908), Diccionario de voces aragonesas, 2nd ed., Zaragoza: Imprenta del Hospicio Provincial, p. 15
20. ^ a b Real Academia Española (1884), Diccionario de la lengua castellana, 12th ed., Madrid: Imprenta de D. Gregorio Hernando (the first Academy edition with etymologies), p. 528
21. ^ Suárez, Constantino (1921), Vocabulario cubano, La Habana: Librería Cervantes / Madrid: Perlado, Páez y Compañía, p. 248
22. ^ a b Asociación de Academias de la Lengua Española (2010), Diccionario de americanismos, Lima: Santillana; online at https://www.asale.org/damer, p. s.v. general
23. ^ Kasten, Lloyd A.; Nitti, John J.; Gago Jover, Francisco (2002–), Diccionario de la prosa castellana del Rey Alfonso X, New York: Hispanic Seminary of Medieval Studies (electronic edition 2024), p. s.v. general
24. ^ Moliner, María (2007), Diccionario de uso del español, 3rd ed., Madrid: Gredos, p. s.v. general