generality

/ˌdʒenəˈæləti/jeh-nur-A-luh-tee

/ˌdʒɛnɚˈæləti/jeh-nur-A-luh-tee

Meaningthe quality of being general

Common meaning: a broad statement

Other meanings: most of a group

generalbelonging to a kindSkeat, Etymological Dictionary (1898), p. 231 · scan
itynoun ending: being so, the quality of

Journey through time

Latingeneralis‘belonging to a kind’source
Old Frenchgeneral‘general, universal’source
Englishgeneral‘common to a whole class’
Englishformed in English from generalgenerality‘a broad statement’ · today

Sources & notes

Meaning: “Meaning” is the sense that emerges from the word’s roots; “Common meaning” is today’s everyday sense. Both written by us.

Pronunciation

UK IPA: converted from the US form by rule (unchecked). Respelling: generated.
No UK recording; the speaker uses your device’s en-GB voice.
US IPA: CMUdict (BSD-2), converted to IPA by rule. Respelling: generated.
No US recording; the speaker uses your device’s en-US voice.

Origin: Formed in English from general + -ity.

Dictionary: Skeat (1898), GENERAL, p.231 · scan

Source words

generalis Latin · source word “belonging to a kind”

Building blocks are an automatic split · open in app