■ adjective
1》 affecting or concerning all or most people or things; not specialized or limited.
↘normal or usual.
2》 involving only the main features or elements and disregarding exceptions; overall.
3》 chief or principal: the ~ manager.
■ noun
1》 a commander of an army, or an army officer ranking above lieutenant ~.
↘short for lieutenant ~ or major ~ .
↘the head of a religious order organized on quasi-military lines, e.g. the Jesuits or the Salvation Army.
2》 ( the ~ ) archaic the ~ public.
Phrases
in ~
1》 usually; mainly.
2》 as a whole.
Derivatives
~ship noun
Origin
ME: via OFr. from L. ~is , from genus , gener- 'class, race, kind'.