*genera*

n.; (pl. Attorney-generals or Attorneys-general). (Law) The chief law officer of the state, empowered to act in all litigation in which the law-executing power is a party, and to advise this supreme executive whenever required. Wharton. [ 1913 Webster ]

[ F. brigadier, fr. brigade. ] (Mil.) An officer in rank next above a colonel, and below a major general. He commands a brigade, and is sometimes called, by a shortening of his title, simple a brigadier. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. Similarity of origin; affinity. [ Obs. ] Dr. H. More. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ From Degenerate, a. ] 1. The act of becoming degenerate; a growing worse. [ 1913 Webster ]

Willful degeneracy from goodness. Tillotson. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. The state of having become degenerate; decline in good qualities; deterioration; meanness. [ 1913 Webster ]

Degeneracy of spirit in a state of slavery. Addison. [ 1913 Webster ]

To recover mankind out of their universal corruption and degeneracy. S. Clarke. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. [ L. degeneratus, p. p. of degenerare to degenerate, cause to degenerate, fr. degener base, degenerate, that departs from its race or kind; de- + genus race, kind. See Kin relationship. ] Having become worse than one's kind, or one's former state; having declined in worth; having lost in goodness; deteriorated; degraded; unworthy; base; low. [ 1913 Webster ]

Faint-hearted and degenerate king. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

A degenerate and degraded state. Milton. [ 1913 Webster ]

Degenerate from their ancient blood. Swift. [ 1913 Webster ]

These degenerate days. Pope. [ 1913 Webster ]

I had planted thee a noble vine . . . : how then art thou turned into the degenerate plant of a strange vine unto me? Jer. ii. 21. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. i. [ imp. & p. p. Degenerated; p. pr. & vb. n. Degenerating. ] 1. To be or grow worse than one's kind, or than one was originally; hence, to be inferior; to grow poorer, meaner, or more vicious; to decline in good qualities; to deteriorate. [ 1913 Webster ]

When wit transgresseth decency, it degenerates into insolence and impiety. Tillotson. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. (Biol.) To fall off from the normal quality or the healthy structure of its kind; to become of a lower type. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. 1. a person who has declined from a high standard, especially a sexual deviate; -- usually used disparagingly or opprobriously of persons whose sexual behavior does not conform to the norms of accepted morals. [ PJC ]

2. a person or thing that has fallen from a higher to a lower state, or reverted to an earlier type or stage of development or culture. RHUD [ PJC ]

adv. In a degenerate manner; unworthily. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. Degeneracy. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ Cf. F. dégénération. ] 1. The act or state of growing worse, or the state of having become worse; decline; degradation; debasement; degeneracy; deterioration. [ 1913 Webster ]

Our degeneration and apostasy. Bates. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. (Physiol.) That condition of a tissue or an organ in which its vitality has become either diminished or perverted; a substitution of a lower for a higher form of structure; as, fatty degeneration of the liver. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. (Biol.) A gradual deterioration, from natural causes, of any class of animals or plants or any particular organ or organs; hereditary degradation of type. [ 1913 Webster ]

4. The thing degenerated. [ R. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

Cockle, aracus, . . . and other degenerations. Sir T. Browne. [ 1913 Webster ]

Amyloid degeneration,
Caseous degeneration, etc. See under Amyloid, Caseous, etc. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. (Biol.) A believer in the theory of degeneration, or hereditary degradation of type; as, the degenerationists hold that savagery is the result of degeneration from a superior state. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Undergoing or producing degeneration; tending to degenerate. [ 1913 Webster ]

. (Elec.) A generator having its revolving part carried on the shaft of the driving engine. [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]

n. pl. See Genus. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. Capability of being generated. Johnstone. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. [ L. generabilis. ] Capable of being generated or produced. Bentley. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ F. général. See General., a. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

1. The whole; the total; that which comprehends or relates to all, or the chief part; -- opposed to particular. [ 1913 Webster ]

In particulars our knowledge begins, and so spreads itself by degrees to generals. Locke. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. (Mil.) One of the chief military officers of a government or country; the commander of an army, of a body of men not less than a brigade. In European armies, the highest military rank next below field marshal. [ 1913 Webster ]

☞ In the United States the office of General of the Army has been created by temporary laws, and has been held only by Generals U. S. Grant, W. T. Sherman, and P. H. Sheridan. Popularly, the title General is given to various general officers, as General, Lieutenant general, Major general, Brigadier general, Commissary general, etc. See Brigadier general, Lieutenant general, Major general, in the Vocabulary. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. (Mil.) The roll of the drum which calls the troops together; as, to beat the general. [ 1913 Webster ]

4. (Eccl.) The chief of an order of monks, or of all the houses or congregations under the same rule. [ 1913 Webster ]

5. The public; the people; the vulgar. [ Obs. ] Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

In general, in the main; for the most part. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. [ F. général, fr. L. generalis. See Genus. ] 1. Relating to a genus or kind; pertaining to a whole class or order; as, a general law of animal or vegetable economy. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. Comprehending many species or individuals; not special or particular; including all particulars; as, a general inference or conclusion. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. Not restrained or limited to a precise import; not specific; vague; indefinite; lax in signification; as, a loose and general expression. [ 1913 Webster ]

4. Common to many, or the greatest number; widely spread; prevalent; extensive, though not universal; as, a general opinion; a general custom. [ 1913 Webster ]

This general applause and cheerful shout
Argue your wisdom and your love to Richard. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

5. Having a relation to all; common to the whole; as, Adam, our general sire. Milton. [ 1913 Webster ]

6. As a whole; in gross; for the most part. [ 1913 Webster ]

His general behavior vain, ridiculous. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

7. Usual; common, on most occasions; as, his general habit or method. [ 1913 Webster ]

☞ The word general, annexed to a name of office, usually denotes chief or superior; as, attorney-general; adjutant general; commissary general; quartermaster general; vicar-general, etc. [ 1913 Webster ]

General agent (Law), an agent whom a principal employs to transact all his business of a particular kind, or to act in his affairs generally. --
General assembly. See the Note under Assembly. --
General average,
General Court. See under Average, Court. --
General court-martial (Mil.), the highest military and naval judicial tribunal. --
General dealer (Com.), a shopkeeper who deals in all articles in common use. --
General demurrer (Law), a demurrer which objects to a pleading in general terms, as insufficient, without specifying the defects. Abbott. --
General epistle, a canonical epistle. --
General guides (Mil.), two sergeants (called the right, and the left, general guide) posted opposite the right and left flanks of an infantry battalion, to preserve accuracy in marching. Farrow. --
General hospitals (Mil.), hospitals established to receive sick and wounded sent from the field hospitals. Farrow.
General issue (Law), an issue made by a general plea, which traverses the whole declaration or indictment at once, without offering any special matter to evade it. Bouvier. Burrill. --
General lien (Law), a right to detain a chattel, etc., until payment is made of any balance due on a general account. --
General officer (Mil.), any officer having a rank above that of colonel. --
General orders (Mil.), orders from headquarters published to the whole command. --
General practitioner, in the United States, one who practices medicine in all its branches without confining himself to any specialty; in England, one who practices both as physician and as surgeon. --
General ship, a ship not chartered or let to particular parties. --
General term (Logic), a term which is the sign of a general conception or notion. --
General verdict (Law), the ordinary comprehensive verdict in civil actions, “for the plaintiff” or “for the defendant”. Burrill. --
General warrant (Law), a warrant, now illegal, to apprehend suspected persons, without naming individuals.

Syn. General, Common, Universal. Common denotes primarily that in which many share; and hence, that which is often met with. General is stronger, denoting that which pertains to a majority of the individuals which compose a genus, or whole. Universal, that which pertains to all without exception. To be able to read and write is so common an attainment in the United States, that we may pronounce it general, though by no means universal. [ 1913 Webster ]

‖n. pl. [ Neut. pl., fr. L. generalis. ] Generalities; general terms. J. S. Mill. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. same as generalize. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

n. [ It., superl. of generale general. See General, a. ] The chief commander of an army; especially, the commander in chief of an army consisting of two or more grand divisions under separate commanders; -- a title used in most foreign countries. [ 1913 Webster ]

n.; pl. Generalities [ L. generalitas: cf. F. généralité. Cf. Generalty. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

1. The state of being general; the quality of including species or particulars. Hooker. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. That which is general; that which lacks specificalness, practicalness, or application; a general or vague statement or phrase. [ 1913 Webster ]

Let us descend from generalities to particulars. Landor. [ 1913 Webster ]

The glittering and sounding generalities of natural right which make up the Declaration of Independence. R. Choate. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. The main body; the bulk; the greatest part; as, the generality of a nation, or of mankind. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Capable of being generalized, or reduced to a general form of statement, or brought under a general rule. [ 1913 Webster ]

Extreme cases are . . . not generalizable. Coleridge [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ Cf. F. généralisation. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

1. The act or process of generalizing; the act of bringing individuals or particulars under a genus or class; deduction of a general principle from particulars. [ 1913 Webster ]

Generalization is only the apprehension of the one in the many. Sir W. Hamilton. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. A general inference. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. i. To form into a genus; to view objects in their relations to a genus or class; to take general or comprehensive views. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Generalized p. pr. & vb. n. Generalizing ] [ Cf. F. généraliser. ] [ Also spelled generalise. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

1. To bring under a genus or under genera; to view in relation to a genus or to genera. [ 1913 Webster ]

Copernicus generalized the celestial motions by merely referring them to the moon's motion. Newton generalized them still more by referring this last to the motion of a stone through the air. W. Nicholson. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. To apply to other genera or classes; to use with a more extensive application; to extend so as to include all special cases; to make universal in application, as a formula or rule. [ 1913 Webster ]

When a fact is generalized, our discontent is quited, and we consider the generality itself as tantamount to an explanation. Sir W. Hamilton. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. To derive or deduce (a general conception, or a general principle) from particulars. [ wns=2 ]
Syn. -- generalize, extrapolate, infer. [ 1913 Webster ]

A mere conclusion generalized from a great multitude of facts. Coleridge. [ 1913 Webster ]

4. To speak in generalities; to talk in abstract terms. [ wns=1 ]
Syn. -- generalise, speak generally. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

a. (Zool.) Comprising structural characters which are separated in more specialized forms; synthetic; as, a generalized type. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. One who takes general or comprehensive views. Tyndall. [ 1913 Webster ]

adv. 1. In general; commonly; extensively, though not universally; most frequently. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. In a general way, or in general relation; in the main; upon the whole; comprehensively. [ 1913 Webster ]

Generally speaking, they live very quietly. Addison. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. Collectively; as a whole; without omissions. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

I counsel that all Israel be generally gathered unto thee. 2 Sam. xvii. ll. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. The condition or quality of being general; frequency; commonness. Sir P. Sidney. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. (1933) a doctrine and philosophical approach to language and its relationship to thought and behavior, developed by Alfred Korzybski (1879-1950), which holds that the capacity to express ideas and thereby improve one's interaction with others and one's environment is enhanced by training in the more critical use of words and other symbols; -- sometimes also called semantics. More information can be found on the web site of the Institute of General Semantics. [ PJC ]

General Semantics is the study of the relations between language, “thought”, and behavior: between how we talk, therefore how we think, therefore how we act. George Doris

n. 1. The office of a general; the exercise of the functions of a general; -- sometimes, with the possessive pronoun, the personality of a general. [ 1913 Webster ]

Your generalship puts me in mind of Prince Eugene. Goldsmith. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. Military skill in a general officer or commander. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. Fig.: Leadership; management. [ 1913 Webster ]

An artful stroke of generalship in Trim to raise a dust. Sterne. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. Generality. [ R. ] Sir M. Hale. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. [ L. generans, p. pr. of generare. ] Generative; producing; esp. (Geom.), acting as a generant. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. 1. That which generates. Glanvill. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. (Geom.) A generatrix. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Generated p. pr. & vb. n. Generating. ] [ L. generatus, p. p. of generare to generate, fr. genus. See Genus, Gender. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

1. To beget; to procreate; to propagate; to produce (a being similar to the parent); to engender; as, every animal generates its own species. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. To cause to be; to bring into life. Milton. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. To originate, especially by a vital or chemical process; to produce; to cause. [ 1913 Webster ]

Whatever generates a quantity of good chyle must likewise generate milk. Arbuthnot. [ 1913 Webster ]

4. (Math.) To trace out, as a line, figure, or solid, by the motion of a point or a magnitude of inferior order. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ OE. generacioun, F. génération, fr.L. generatio. ] 1. The act of generating or begetting; procreation, as of animals. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. Origination by some process, mathematical, chemical, or vital; production; formation; as, the generation of sounds, of gases, of curves, etc. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. That which is generated or brought forth; progeny; offspiring. [ 1913 Webster ]

4. A single step or stage in the succession of natural descent; a rank or remove in genealogy. Hence: The body of those who are of the same genealogical rank or remove from an ancestor; the mass of beings living at one period; also, the average lifetime of man, or the ordinary period of time at which one rank follows another, or father is succeeded by child, usually assumed to be one third of a century; an age. [ 1913 Webster ]

This is the book of the generations of Adam. Gen. v. 1. [ 1913 Webster ]

Ye shall remain there [ in Babylon ] many years, and for a long season, namely, seven generations. Baruch vi. 3. [ 1913 Webster ]

All generations and ages of the Christian church. Hooker. [ 1913 Webster ]

5. Race; kind; family; breed; stock. [ 1913 Webster ]

Thy mother's of my generation; what's she, if I be a dog? Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

6. (Geom.) The formation or production of any geometrical magnitude, as a line, a surface, a solid, by the motion, in accordance with a mathematical law, of a point or a magnitude; as, the generation of a line or curve by the motion of a point, of a surface by a line, a sphere by a semicircle, etc. [ 1913 Webster ]

7. (Biol.) The aggregate of the functions and phenomene which attend reproduction. [ 1913 Webster ]

☞ There are four modes of generation in the animal kingdom: scissiparity or by fissiparous generation, gemmiparity or by budding, germiparity or by germs, and oviparity or by ova. [ 1913 Webster ]

Alternate generation (Biol.), alternation of sexual with asexual generation, in which the products of one process differ from those of the other, -- a form of reproduction common both to animal and vegetable organisms. In the simplest form, the organism arising from sexual generation produces offspiring unlike itself, agamogenetically. These, however, in time acquire reproductive organs, and from their impregnated germs the original parent form is reproduced. In more complicated cases, the first series of organisms produced agamogenetically may give rise to others by a like process, and these in turn to still other generations. Ultimately, however, a generation is formed which develops sexual organs, and the original form is reproduced. --
Spontaneous generation (Biol.), the fancied production of living organisms without previously existing parents from inorganic matter, or from decomposing organic matter, a notion which at one time had many supporters; abiogenesis. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. [ Cf. F. génératif. ] Having the power of generating, propagating, originating, or producing. “That generative particle.” Bentley. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ L. ] 1. One who, or that which, generates, begets, causes, or produces. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. An apparatus in which vapor or gas is formed from a liquid or solid by means of heat or chemical process, as a steam boiler, gas retort, or vessel for generating carbonic acid gas, etc. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. (Mus.) The principal sound or sounds by which others are produced; the fundamental note or root of the common chord; -- called also generating tone. [ 1913 Webster ]

4. (Elec.) Any machine that transforms mechanical into electrical energy; a dynamo. [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]

5. (Math.) a mathematical entity which, when subjected to an operation, yields another mathematical entity; also, a generatrix. [ PJC ]

n.; pl. L. Generatrices E. Generatrixes [ L. ] (Geom.) That which generates; the point, or the mathematical magnitude, which, by its motion, generates another magnitude, as a line, surface, or solid; -- called also describent.

A governor who has lieutenant or deputy governors under him; as, the governor general of Canada, of India. [ 1913 Webster ]

. A machine built as an induction motor and driven above synchronous speed, thus acting as an alternating-current generator; -- called also asynchronous generator. Below synchronism the machine takes in electrical energy and acts as an induction motor; at synchronism the power component of current becomes zero and changes sign, so that above synchronism the machine (driven for this purpose by mechanical power) gives out electrical energy as a generator. [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]

n. Incapacity of being engendered or produced. Cudworth. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. [ Pref. in- not + generable: cf. F. ingenerable. ] Incapable of being engendered or produced; original. Holland. [ 1913 Webster ]

adv. In an ingenerable manner. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. [ L. ingeneratus, p. p. of ingenerare. See engender ] Generated within; inborn; innate; as, ingenerate powers of body. W. Wotton. [ 1913 Webster ]

Those virtues were rather feigned and affected . . . than true qualities ingenerate in his judgment. Bacon. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Ingenerat p. pr. & vb. n. Ingenerating ] To generate or produce within; to beget; to engender; to occasion; to cause. Mede. [ 1913 Webster ]

Those noble habits are ingenerated in the soul. Sir M. Hale. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. Act of ingenerating. [ 1913 Webster ]