different between general vs imaginary

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 Middle French imaginaire, from Latin im?gin?rius (“relating to images, fancied”), from im?g?.

The mathematical sense derives from René Descartes's use (of the French imaginaire) in 1637, La Geometrie, to ridicule the notion of regarding non-real roots of polynomials as numbers. Although Descartes' usage was derogatory, the designation stuck even after the concept gained acceptance in the 18th century.

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /??mæd??n(?)?i/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /??mæd???n??i/

Adjective

imaginary (comparative more imaginary, superlative most imaginary)

1. Existing only in the imagination.

   • Wilt thou add to all the griefs I suffer / Imaginary ills and fancied tortures?

2. (mathematics, of a number) Having no real part; that part of a complex number which is a multiple of ${\displaystyle {\sqrt {-1}}}$ (called imaginary unit).

Synonyms

• (existing only in the imagination): all in one's head

Derived terms

• imaginarily
• imaginariness
• imaginarity
• imaginary number
• imaginary unit

Translations

Noun

imaginary (plural imaginaries)

1. Imagination; fancy. [from 16th c.]
   • 2002, Colin Jones, The Great Nation, Penguin 2003, p. 324:

     By then too Mozart's opera, from Da Ponte's libretto, had made Figaro a stock character in the European imaginary and set the whole Continent whistling Mozartian airs and chuckling at Figaresque humour.
2. (mathematics) An imaginary quantity. [from 18th c.]
3. (sociology) The set of values, institutions, laws, and symbols common to a particular social group and the corresponding society through which people imagine their social whole.

References