Online Encyclopedia

Search over 40,000 articles from the original, classic Encyclopedia Britannica, 11th Edition.

GENERAL (Lat. generalis, of or relati...

Online Encyclopedia
Originally appearing in Volume V11, Page 578 of the 1911 Encyclopedia Britannica.
Spread the word: del.icio.us del.icio.us it!

See also:

GENERAL (See also:Lat. generalis, of or See also:relating to a genus, See also:kind or class)  , a See also:term which, from its pointing to all or most of the members of a class, the whole of an See also:area, &c., as opposed to" particular " or to " See also:local," is hence used in various shades of meaning, for that which is prevalent, usual, widespread or See also:miscellaneous, indefinite, vague . It has been added to the titles of various officials, military See also:officers and others; thus the See also:head of a religious See also:order is the " See also:superior-See also:general," more usually the " general," and we find the same See also:combination in such offices as that of " accountant-general," " postmaster-general," " See also:attorney-" or " See also:solicitor-general,"and many others, the additional word implying that the See also:official in question is of superior See also:rank, as having a wider II authority or See also:sphere of activity . This is the use that accounts for the application of the term, as a substantive, to a military officer of superior rank, a " general officer," or " general," who commands or administers bodies of troops larger than a See also:regiment, or consisting of more than one See also:arm of the service (see also OFFICERS) . It was towards the end of the 16th See also:century that the word began to be used in its See also:present sense as a noun, and in the armies of the See also:time the " general " was See also:commander-in-See also:chief, the " See also:lieutenant-general " commander of the See also:horse and second in command of the See also:army, and the " See also:major-general " (strictly " sergeant-major-general ") commander of the See also:foot and chief of the See also:staff . See also:Field marshals, who have now the highest rank, were formerly subordinate to the general officers . These titles—general, lieutenant-general and major-general—are still applied in most armies to the first, second and third grades of general officer, and in the See also:French service until 1870 the chief of the staff of the army See also:bore the See also:title of major-general . In the See also:German and See also:Russian services the three grades are qualified by the addition of the words " of See also:cavalry," " of See also:infantry " and " of See also:artillery." The French service possesses only two grades, " general of See also:brigade " and " general of See also:division." The See also:Austrian service has two ranks of general officers See also:peculiar to itself, " lieutenant field See also:marshal," See also:equivalent to lieutenant-general, and Feldzeugmeister (See also:master of the See also:ordnance), equivalent to the German general of infantry or artillery . There is also the rank of " general of cavalry." The See also:Spanish army still retains the old term " See also:captain-general." In the German service General Oberst (See also:colonel-general) and General Feldzeugmeister (master-general of ordnance) are ranks intermediate between that of full general and that of general field marshal .

End of Article: GENERAL (Lat. generalis, of or relating to a genus, kind or class)
[back]
GENERAL
[next]
GENERAL AUTHORITIES ON TECIINIQUE

Additional information and Comments

There are no comments yet for this article.
» Add information or comments to this article.
Please link directly to this article:
Highlight the code below, right click and select "copy." Paste it into a website, email, or other HTML document.