general

Forms

Noun: general m (plural generali).^[1] Adjective: general m or n (feminine singular generală, masculine plural generali, feminine and neuter plural generale).^[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from French général, with Latin generālis (“of a kind; general”) as a second model for the adjective, as DEX and MDA2 give it.^[2][3] Ciorănescu derives the adjective from the French word alone, and Tiktin from Italian generale.^[4][5]

Ciorănescu treats the noun as a derivative of the adjective, also taken from French.^[4] DEX and MDA2 take it from French, DEX comparing Russian генерал (general).^[2][3] Ciorănescu says it came in during the 18th century through Russian, and Tiktin names German and Russian as go-betweens for the French word;^[4][5][6] Marcu and Maneca list French, Russian and German.^[4][5][6]

Earliest recorded meaning

Tiktin's first record is of 1693.^[5] MDA2 dates the noun from Ion Neculce's chronicle of Moldavia, and the adjective only from a document of 1855.^[3]

Semantic evolution

The adjective means common to all or most members of a class, then concerning something as a whole, in its broad lines, and widespread.^[2][3] Used as a neuter noun it names what is common to a class, also as a term of philosophy.^[2] Placed after a title it marks the person in overall charge: director general.^[2]

The noun named the commander of an army: Negulici's dictionary of 1848 explains it so.^[7] It now names the ranks above colonel.^[2] Ciorănescu lists many old and popular variants, gheneral, ghenerar, ghineral and ghinărar(iu), and DEX still records ghenerar and ghinărar.^[4][2]

Timeline

• 1693 – first record.^[5]
• 1848 – the noun in Negulici's dictionary of neologisms.^[7]
• 1855 – MDA2's first record of the adjective.^[3]

Meanings

Noun

1. A general: any of the military ranks above colonel; an officer of such a rank.^[2][3][1]

Adjective

1. Common to all or most members of a group or class: interesul general “the general interest”.^[2][3]
2. Concerning something as a whole, in its main lines: cultură generală “general knowledge”;^[2] în general “in general”.^[2]
3. Happening or present over a wide area; widespread.^[2][3]
4. Having overall charge of a branch of an institution: director general.^[2]

Word family

• generalisim
• generalitate
• generaliza

Related words

• gen
• Latin generālis

Usage notes

DEX and MDA2 treat the noun (general¹, the rank) and the adjective (general², “common to all”) as two headwords; both go back to the same French and Latin word.^[2][3][4] The adjective is also used as a neuter noun, “what is general”.^[2]

References

1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o DEX (2009), Dicționarul explicativ al limbii române [Explanatory dictionary of the Romanian language], Bucharest: Editura Univers Enciclopedic, p. 432
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i Academia Română, Institutul de Lingvistică „Iorgu Iordan – Al. Rosetti” (2010), Micul dicționar academic, 2nd ed., 4 vols., București: Univers Enciclopedic Gold, p. 1, 982
4. ^ a b c d e f Ciorănescu, Alexandru (1958–1966), Diccionario etimológico rumano, La Laguna: Universidad de La Laguna (Romanian ed.: Dicționarul etimologic al limbii române, București: Saeculum, 2001), p. s.v. general
5. ^ a b c d e Tiktin, Hariton (2000–2005), Rumänisch-deutsches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., revised by Paul Miron and Elsa Lüder, 3 vols., Cluj-Napoca: Clusium, p. s.v. general
6. ^ a b Marcu, Florin; Maneca, Constant (1986), Dicționar de neologisme, 3rd ed., București: Editura Academiei Republicii Socialiste România, p. s.v. general
7. ^ a b Negulici, I. D. (1848), Vocabular romînesc de toate vorbele streine întroduse pînă acum în limba romînească și de toate cuvintele ce s-ar mai putea introduce încă, București, p. s.v. general