different between general vs abstruse

English

Alternative forms

• generall (chiefly archaic)

Etymology

From Middle English general, in turn from Anglo-Norman general, generall, Middle French general, and their source, Latin gener?lis, from genus (“class, kind”) + -?lis (“-al”).

Pronunciation

• (UK, US) IPA^(key): /?d???n??l/
• (US) IPA^(key): /?d???n???l/
• Hyphenation: gene?ral, gen?er?al

Adjective

general (comparative more general, superlative most general)

1. Including or involving every part or member of a given or implied entity, whole etc.; as opposed to specific or particular. [from 13th c.]
2. (sometimes postpositive) Applied to a person (as a postmodifier or a normal preceding adjective) to indicate supreme rank, in civil or military titles, and later in other terms; pre-eminent. [from 14th c.]
3. Prevalent or widespread among a given class or area; common, usual. [from 14th c.]
4. Not limited in use or application; applicable to the whole or every member of a class or category. [from 14th c.]
5. Giving or consisting of only the most important aspects of something, ignoring minor details; indefinite. [from 16th c.]
6. Not limited to a specific class; miscellaneous, concerned with all branches of a given subject or area. [from 16th c.]

Synonyms

• (involving every part or member): broad, generic; see also Thesaurus:generic
• (prevalent or widespread): typical; see also Thesaurus:common

Antonyms

• (involving every part or member): particular, specific; see also Thesaurus:specific
• (prevalent or widespread): abnormal, uncommon

Derived terms

Related terms

• universal
• common

Translations

Noun

general (countable and uncountable, plural generals)

1. (now rare) A general fact or proposition; a generality. [from 16th c.]

2. (military) 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. [from 16th c.]
3. A great strategist or tactician. [from 16th c.]

4. (Christianity) The head of certain religious orders, especially Dominicans or Jesuits. [from 16th c.]
5. (nautical) A commander of naval forces; an admiral. [16th-18th c.]
6. (colloquial, now historical) A general servant; a maid with no specific duties. [from 19th c.]
7. (countable) A general anesthetic.
8. (uncountable) General anesthesia.
9. (uncountable, insurance) The general insurance industry.

Usage notes

When used as a title, it is always capitalized.

Example: General John Doe.

The rank corresponds to pay grade O-10. Abbreviations: GEN.

Coordinate terms

• (insurance industry): health, life, pensions

Translations

See also

• hetman

Verb

general (third-person singular simple present generals, present participle generalling or generaling, simple past and past participle generalled or generaled)

1. To lead (soldiers) as a general.

Adverb

general (not comparable)

1. (obsolete) In a general or collective manner or sense; in most cases; upon the whole.

Anagrams

• enlarge, gleaner, reangle

Catalan

Etymology

From Latin gener?lis.

Pronunciation

• (Balearic, Central) IPA^(key): /??.n???al/
• (Valencian) IPA^(key): /d??e.ne??al/

Adjective

general (masculine and feminine plural generals)

1. general

Noun

general m (plural generals, feminine generala)

1. (military) general

Derived terms

Further reading

• “general” in Diccionari de la llengua catalana, segona edició, Institut d’Estudis Catalans.
• “general” in Gran Diccionari de la Llengua Catalana, Grup Enciclopèdia Catalana.
• “general” in Diccionari normatiu valencià, Acadèmia Valenciana de la Llengua.
• “general” in Diccionari català-valencià-balear, Antoni Maria Alcover and Francesc de Borja Moll, 1962.

Danish

Noun

general c (singular definite generalen, plural indefinite generaler)

1. general

Inflection

Ladin

Adjective

general m (feminine singular generala, masculine plural generai, feminine plural generales)

1. general

Middle English

Alternative forms

• generall, generale

Etymology

From a mixture of Anglo-Norman general, Middle French general, and Latin gener?lis.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /d??n??ra?l/, /?d??n?ral/

Adjective

general

1. universal, complete
2. comprehensive, wide-ranging
3. general, widely useable or applicable
4. common, widely present

Descendants

• English: general
• Scots: general

References

• “?ener?l, adj. & n.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007, retrieved 2018-04-01.

Noun

general (plural generals)

1. genus, class, group

References

• “?ener?l, adj. & n.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007, retrieved 2018-04-01.

Norwegian Bokmål

Noun

general m (definite singular generalen, indefinite plural generaler, definite plural generalene)

1. (military) a general

Derived terms

• generalguvernør

Norwegian Nynorsk

Noun

general m (definite singular generalen, indefinite plural generalar, definite plural generalane)

1. (military) a general

Derived terms

• generalguvernør

Old French

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin gener?lis.

Noun

general m (oblique plural generaus or generax or generals, nominative singular generaus or generax or generals, nominative plural general)

1. (military) general

Adjective

general m (oblique and nominative feminine singular generale)

1. general (not limited in use or application; applicable to the whole or every member of a class or category)

Declension

Descendants

• ? English: general
• French: général

Portuguese

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin gener?lis. See also geral, from the same source.

Pronunciation

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /?e.ne??a??/
• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /??.n???a?/
• Hyphenation: ge?ne?ral

Noun

general m (plural generais, feminine generala, feminine plural generalas)

1. (military) general

Descendants

• ? Tetum: jenerál

Further reading

• “general” in Dicionário Priberam da Língua Portuguesa.

Romanian

Etymology

Borrowed from French général, from Latin gener?lis.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /d??e.ne?ral/

Noun

general m (plural generali)

1. general

Declension

Adjective

general m or n (feminine singular general?, masculine plural generali, feminine and neuter plural generale)

1. general

Declension

Related terms

Serbo-Croatian

Etymology

From German General, from Latin gener?lis.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?en?ra?l/
• Hyphenation: ge?ne?ral

Noun

genèr?l m (Cyrillic spelling ????????)

1. (military) general

Declension

Slovene

Etymology

From German General, from Latin gener?lis.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /??n?rá?l/

Noun

gener?l m anim (female equivalent gener?lica or gener?lka)

1. (military) general

Inflection

Spanish

Etymology

From Latin gener?lis.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /xene??al/, [xe.ne??al]

Adjective

general (plural generales)

1. general

Derived terms

Noun

general m (plural generales, feminine generala, feminine plural generalas)

1. (military) general

Descendants

• ? Cebuano: heneral
• ? Tagalog: heneral

Further reading

• “general” in Diccionario de la lengua española, Vigésima tercera edición, Real Academia Española, 2014.

Swedish

Etymology

From German General, from Old French general, from Latin gener?lis.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /j?n(?)?r??l/

Noun

general c

1. a general; a military title
2. an Air Chief Marshal

Declension

Descendants

• ? Finnish: kenraali

References

English

Etymology

From French abstrus or its source, Latin abstr?sus (“hidden, concealed”), the perfect passive participle of abstr?d? (“conceal, to push away”), itself from ab, abs (“away”) + tr?d? (“thrust, push”). Cognate with German abstrus.

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /?b?st?u?s/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /æb?st?us/, /?b-/
• Rhymes: -u?s
• Hyphenation: ab?struse

Adjective

abstruse (comparative abstruser or more abstruse, superlative abstrusest or most abstruse)

1. Difficult to comprehend or understand. [from late 16th c.]

   Synonyms: esoteric, obscure, recondite
2. (obsolete) Concealed or hidden out of the way; secret. [from late 16th c. until mid 18th c.]

Usage notes

More abstruse and most abstruse are the preferred forms over abstruser and abstrusest.

Synonyms

• (concealed): clandestine, secret, surreptitious; See also Thesaurus:covert
• (difficult to comprehend): esoteric, obscure, recondite; See also Thesaurus:incomprehensible

Derived terms

• abstrusely
• abstruseness

Translations

References

Further reading

• abstruse in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.
• abstruse in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911.

Anagrams

• Staubers, Straubes, surbates, surbeats

French

Adjective

abstruse

1. feminine singular of abstrus

Anagrams

• arbustes

German

Adjective

abstruse

1. inflection of abstrus:
   1. strong/mixed nominative/accusative feminine singular
   2. strong nominative/accusative plural
   3. weak nominative all-gender singular
   4. weak accusative feminine/neuter singular

Latin

Participle

abstr?se

1. vocative masculine singular of abstr?sus

References

• abstruse in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press