<B>generalism, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> devotion to broad fields of study, business, or the like without becoming involved in details; the beliefs and practices of a generalist. <BR> <I>Ex. ... the preference for generalism over specialized training and professionalism in staffing the higher civil service (T. J. O. Hickey).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="generalissimo">
<B>generalissimo, </B>noun, pl. <B>-mos.</B><DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>the commander in chief of all the military forces in certain countries. <BR> <I>Ex. Generalissimo Chiang Kai-Shek.</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>the commander in chief of several armies in the field. </DL>
<A NAME="generalist">
<B>generalist, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> a person who devotes himself to a broad field of study, business, or the like, without becoming involved in details. </DL>
<A NAME="generality">
<B>generality, </B>noun, pl. <B>-ties.</B><DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>a general or vague statement; word or phrase not definite enough to have much meaning or value. <BR> <I>Ex. The candidate spoke only in generalities; not once did he say what he would do if elected.</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>a general principle or rule. <BR> <I>Ex. "Nothing happens without a cause" is a generality.</I> (SYN) generalization. <DD><B> 3. </B>the greater part; main body; mass. <BR> <I>Ex. The generality of people must work for a living.</I> (SYN) majority. <DD><B> 4. </B>general quality or condition. <BR> <I>Ex. A rule of great generality has very few exceptions.</I> </DL>
<A NAME="generalizability">
<B>generalizability, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> the quality of being generalizable. </DL>
<A NAME="generalizable">
<B>generalizable, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD> that can be summed up by a generalization. <BR> <I>Ex. generalizable data.</I> </DL>
<A NAME="generalization">
<B>generalization, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>the act or process of generalizing. <BR> <I>Ex. Don't be hasty in generalization; be sure you have the necessary facts first.</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>a general idea, statement, principle, or rule. <BR> <I>Ex. "Summer is warmer than winter" is a generalization based on long experience.</I> </DL>
<A NAME="generalize">
<B>generalize, </B>verb, <B>-ized,</B> <B>-izing.</B><DL COMPACT><DD><I>v.t. </I> <B>1. </B>to make into one general statement; bring under a common heading, class, or law. <DD><B> 2. </B>to infer (a general rule) from particular facts. <BR> <I>Ex. Knowledge is experience generalized (John Stuart Mill).</I> <DD><B> 3. </B>to state in a more general form; extend in application. <BR> <I>Ex. The statement that 5 + 3 = 8 and 50 + 30 = 80 can be generalized to the form 5a + 3a = 8a.</I> <DD><B> 4. </B>to bring into general use or knowledge; popularize. <DD><B> 5. </B>to make general; give a general form or character to. <DD><I>v.i. </I> <B>1. </B>to infer a general rule from particular facts; make general inferences. <BR> <I>Ex. If you have seen cats, lions, leopards, and tigers eat meat, you can generalize and say, "The cat family eats meat." It is a dangerous business to generalize about what the American voter will do (Tom Wicker).</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>to talk or write indefinitely or vaguely; use generalities. <BR> <I>Ex. The news commentator generalized because he knew no details.</I> <DD><B> 3. </B>to become general; spread. <BR> <I>Ex. This fear [of a dog] may generalize ... even more widely to other animals and to such objects as fur coats (Walter Mischel).</I> noun <B>generalizer.</B> </DL>
<A NAME="generalized">
<B>generalized, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>(Biology.) representing a broad or general type of form or function; undifferentiated. <BR> <I>Ex. Man's brains, hands, and eyes ... are generalized features, even though they have developed enormously in complexity (Beals and Hoijer).</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>(Medicine.) affecting many or all parts of the body. <BR> <I>Ex. a generalized disease.</I> </DL>
<A NAME="generalledger">
<B>general ledger,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> (Accounting.) the main ledger that contains accounts of assets, liabilities, income, expenditures, and other financial data, of a business. </DL>
<A NAME="generallinguistics">
<B>general linguistics,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> the study of language and linguistic phenomena in general, with reference to many languages and the various branches of linguistics. </DL>
<A NAME="generally">
<B>generally, </B>adverb.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>in most cases; usually. <BR> <I>Ex. He is generally on time.</I> (SYN) commonly. <DD><B> 2. </B>for the most part; widely. <BR> <I>Ex. It was once generally believed that the earth was flat.</I> (SYN) extensively. <DD><B> 3. </B>in a general way; without giving details; not specially. <BR> <I>Ex. Generally speaking, our coldest weather comes in January.</I> </DL>
<A NAME="generalmanager">
<B>general manager,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> the executive in charge of the day-to-day operation of a factory, business, or other enterprise. </DL>
<A NAME="generalofficer">
<B>general officer,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> an officer of the U.S. Army, Air Force, or Marine Corps holding a rank above colonel. </DL>
<A NAME="generaloftheairforce">
<B>General of the Air Force,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a general of the highest rank in the United States Air Force, wearing the insigne of five stars. </DL>
<A NAME="generalofthearmies">
<B>General of the Armies,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> (U.S.) a special military title created by Congress after World War I for General John J. Pershing. </DL>
<A NAME="generalofthearmy">
<B>General of the Army,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a general of the highest rank in the United States Army, wearing the insigne of five stars. </DL>
<A NAME="generalorders">
<B>general orders,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a series of military publications issued by an authorized headquarters, each containing general announcements of official acts, such as citations of units, awards, important appointments, or other directive or informative matters. Some general orders have the force of regulations. </DL>
<A NAME="generalparesis">
<B>general paresis</B> or <B>paralysis,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a condition characterized by mental and muscular deterioration, caused by a syphilitic infection of the brain and brain coverings; dementia paralytica. </DL>
<A NAME="generalpost">
<B>general post,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> (British.) the first mail delivery in the morning. </DL>
<A NAME="generalpostoffice">
<B>general post office,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a central post office for any city or district having branches. </DL>
<A NAME="generalpractice">
<B>general practice,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> the work of a general practitioner. </DL>
<A NAME="generalpractitioner">
<B>general practitioner,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a physician who does not specialize in any single field of medicine. (Abbr:) GP (no periods) or G.P. </DL>
<A NAME="generalpurpose">
<B>general-purpose, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD> of many or unlimited uses. </DL>
<A NAME="generalquarters">
<B>general quarters,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> (in the Navy) the stationing of all hands at battle stations, and the making of preparations, as for battle or an emergency. </DL>
<A NAME="generalrelativity">
<B>general relativity,</B> <B>=general theory of relativity.</B></DL>
<A NAME="generalretainer">
<B>general retainer,</B><DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>the securing of the services of a lawyer in all legal matters for a specified amount of time. <DD><B> 2. </B>the fee paid for such services. </DL>
<A NAME="generalsemantics">
<B>general semantics,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a theory and a method intended to improve the quality of human experiences and relationships by training people to be more critical in their use of and reaction to words and symbols; developed by Alfred Korzybski. </DL>
<A NAME="generalsessions">
<B>general sessions,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> (U.S.) a court of law having general jurisdiction in criminal cases. </DL>
<A NAME="generalship">
<B>generalship, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>ability as a general; skill in commanding an army. <BR> <I>Ex. Success ... was to be attributed, not at all to his own generalship, but solely to the valour and steadiness of his troops (Macaulay).</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>skillful management; leadership. <DD><B> 3. </B>the rank, commission, authority, or term of office or function of a general. </DL>
<A NAME="generalstaff">
<B>general staff,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a group of high army officers who assist a chief of staff of a division or larger unit in making plans for war or national defense. </DL>
<A NAME="generalstore">
<B>general store,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a store that carries a wide variety of goods for sale. </DL>
<A NAME="generalstrike">
<B>general strike,</B><DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>a widespread strike in the essential industries of a country or in all the industries of a certain area. <DD><B> 2. </B>a strike of all the workers of an industry. </DL>
<A NAME="generaltheoryofrelativity">
<B>general theory of relativity,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> an extension of Einstein's special theory of relativity, dealing with the equivalence of gravitational and inertial forces and related phenomena. </DL>
<A NAME="generaltrademark">
<B>general trademark,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a trademark that covers a general business or occupation and has no time limit. </DL>
<B>generate, </B>transitive verb, <B>-ated,</B> <B>-ating.</B><DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>to cause to be; bring into being; produce. <BR> <I>Ex. Heating water can generate steam. The steam can generate electricity by turning an electric generator.</I> (SYN) make. <DD><B> 2. </B>to produce (offspring); procreate. (SYN) beget. <DD><B> 3. </B>(Mathematics.) to form (a line, surface, figure, or solid) especially by moving a point or line. <DD><B> 4. </B>(Linguistics.) to derive or produce (a grammatical sentence) from more basic forms by a set of rules of operation or transformation. <BR> <I>Ex. Surface structures--the sentences we actually speak and hear--are not "like" the kernels from which they are generated by transformational rules (New Yorker).</I> </DL>
