generalship en · NOUN
Pronunciation
- /ˈdʒɛn(ə)ɹəlʃɪp/ (UK)
Etymology
Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *ǵenh₁- Proto-Indo-European *-os Proto-Indo-European *ǵénh₁os Proto-Italic *genos Latin genus, generis Proto-Indo-European *h₂el- Proto-Indo-European *-is Proto-Indo-European *h₂élisder.? Proto-Italic *-ālis Latin -ālis Latin generālisbor. Anglo-Norman generalbor. Middle French generalbor. ▲ Latin generālisder. Middle English general English general Proto-Germanic *skapjaną Proto-Germanic *-skapiz Proto-West Germanic *-skapi Old English -sċiepe Middle English -schipe English -ship English generalship From general + -ship.
Meanings
- The position or office of a general.
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The term of office of a military general.
George Washington's generalship was marked by both amazing victories and stunning blunders, neither of which would have happened to someone with more formal officer training.
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The skills or performance of a good general; military leadership, strategy.
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; […]
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:At the same time, awed by the brilliant and daring generalship which had enabled the Russian to capture their city with so small a force, the elders gave him the honorific title of ‘Lion of Tashkent’.
1990, Peter Hopkirk, The Great Game, Folio Society, published 2010, page 277:Virtually the whole of the region fell to Saxe's ingenious generalship.
2002, Colin Jones, The Great Nation, Penguin, published 2003, page 136:
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By extension, leadership, good management.
Under my generalship my fine troop of brats picked up every scrap of litter in that lot.
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| generalships | Number=Plur | lexicographic |