General

See also: general, général, generál, generał, and general-

English

General (plural Generals)

Alternative letter-case form of general in its various senses.
You're going to have to tell that to the president yourself, General.
The title used by a military general, flag rank officer of the military
- 1893, William M[ecklenburg] Polk, “The Kentucky Campaign”, in Leonidas Polk, Bishop and General, volume II, London: Longmans, Green, and Co. and New York: […], page 158:
  General Polk stated, with all respect to General Bragg’s great abilities in the direction of organization and discipline, that he had been wanting in the higher elements of generalship in the conduct of the campaign; and that, in view of the admitted possibilities of the campaign, he considered it a failure—an opinion, he said, he believed Generals Smith and Hardee shared with him. He further said that General Bragg had lost the confidence of his generals, and, in answer to a suggestion from the President of a change of commanders, requested that General Joseph E. Johnston should be assigned to the command of the army, if a change were made.
- 2017 August 23, “ESPN reassigns commentator Robert Lee over 'name coincidence'”, in BBC‎^[1], archived from the original on 15 July 2025:
  The rally was organised to protest against the removal of a statue of General Lee, who commanded the pro-slavery Confederate forces during the American Civil War.

General

(informal, medicine) Ellipsis of General Hospital.
The ambulance is taking him to General.
Owerri West General Hospital or Owerri North? Obinze is still in charge of West General. If it's that one, turn it around now.

General m (strong, genitive Generales or Generals, plural Generäle or Generale, feminine Generälin or Generalin)

The two military senses exist alongside each other. In the German Bundeswehr, all army and air-force officers above the rank of colonel (Oberst) are referred to as Generale and each of them is addressed as Herr General. At the same time, General is a specific rank, namely the highest existing rank, typically held by the inspector general and at most one or two other generals.
The plural is Generale in the Bundeswehr’s official terminology, but more commonly Generäle otherwise. Singular forms with -e- (des Generales, dem Generale) are exceedingly rare.

¹Now rare, see notes.