General vs Staple - What's the difference?
general | staple |
Including or involving every part or member of a given or implied entity, whole etc.; as opposed to (specific) or (particular).
* c. 1495 , (John Skelton), "Vppon a deedman's hed":
* 1842 , Douglas Jerrold, "Mr Peppersorn ‘At Home’", Cakes and Ale :
* 1946 , (Bertrand Russell), History of Western Philosophy , I.27:
* 2006 , Ruth Sutherland, "Invite public to the private equity party", The Observer , 15 Oct 06:
Applied to a person (as a postmodifier or a normal preceding adjective) to indicate supreme rank, in civil or military titles, and later in other terms; pre-eminent.
* 1865 , Edward Cust, Lives of the Warriors of the Thirty Years War , p. 527:
* 2002 , James Turner, Libertines and Radicals in Early Modern London , p. 122:
Prevalent or widespread among a given class or area; common, usual.
* 1817 , (Walter Scott), Rob Roy , IX:
* 2008 , John Patterson, "Home movies", The Guardian , 20 Dec 08:
Not limited in use or application; applicable to the whole or every member of a class or category.
* 1924 , Time , 17 Mar 1924:
* 2009 , Douglas P Zipes, Saturday Evening Post , vol. 281:1, p. 20:
Giving or consisting of only the most important aspects of something, ignoring minor details; indefinite.
* 1817 , (Walter Scott), Rob Roy , X:
* 2006 , Kevin Nance, "Ghosts of the White City", Chicago Sun-Times , 16 Jul 06:
* 2008 , Robert P Maloney, "The Quiet Carpenter", America , vol. 199:19, p. 18:
Not limited to a specific class; miscellaneous, concerned with all branches of a given subject or area.
* 1941 , (W Somerset Maugham), Up at the Villa , Vintage 2004, p. 24:
* 1947 , "Russian Catechism", Time , 20 Oct 1947:
* 2007 , Alan Cheuse, "A Little Death", Southern Review , vol. 43:3, p. 692:
:We have dealt with the generals ; now let us turn to the particulars.
(military ranks) A senior military title, originally designating the commander of an army and now a specific rank falling under field marshal (in the British army) and below general of the army or general of the air force in the US army and air forces.
A great strategist or tactician.
*1918 , (Rebecca West), The Return of the Soldier , Virago 2014, p. 16:
*:She flung at us as we sat down, ‘My general is sister to your second housemaid.’
A general anaesthetic; general anaesthesia.
To lead (soldiers) as a general
A town containing merchants who have exclusive right, under royal authority, to purchase or produce certain goods for export; also, the body of such merchants seen as a group.
* Arbuthnot
* Sir Walter Scott
* 2011 , Thomas Penn, Winter King , Penguin 2012, p. 73:
(by extension) Place of supply; source.
* Macaulay
The principal commodity produced in a town or region.
* Trench
* 1929 , , , Chapter VIII, Section ii:
A basic or essential supply.
A recurring topic or character.
* 2010 , The Economist , Jul-Aug 2010, p. 27:
Short fiber, as of cotton, sheep’s wool, or the like, which can be spun into yarn or thread.
Unmanufactured material; raw material.
To sort according to its staple.
Relating to, or being market of staple for, commodities.
Established in commerce; occupying the markets; settled.
Fit to be sold; marketable.
Regularly produced or manufactured in large quantities; belonging to wholesale traffic; principal; chief.
* Hallam
A wire fastener used to secure stacks of paper by penetrating all the sheets and curling around.
A wire fastener used to secure something else by penetrating and curling.
A U-shaped metal fastener, used to attach fence wire or other material to posts or structures.
One of a set of U-shaped metal rods hammered into a structure, such as a piling or wharf, which serve as a ladder.
(mining) A shaft, smaller and shorter than the principal one, joining different levels.
A small pit.
A district granted to an abbey.
To secure with a staple.
As adjectives the difference between general and staple
is that general is including or involving every part or member of a given or implied entity, whole etc.; as opposed to {{term|specific}} or {{term|particular}} while staple is relating to, or being market of staple for, commodities.As nouns the difference between general and staple
is that general is {{cx|now|_|rare|lang=en}} A general fact or proposition; a generality while staple is a town containing merchants who have exclusive right, under royal authority, to purchase or produce certain goods for export; also, the body of such merchants seen as a group.As verbs the difference between general and staple
is that general is to lead (soldiers) as a general while staple is to sort according to its staple.general
English
Alternative forms
* generall (chiefly archaic)Adjective
(en adjective)- It is generall / To be mortall: / I haue well espyde / No man may hym hyde / From Deth holow eyed [...].
- "Among us!" was the general shout, and Peppersorn sat frozen to his chair.
- Undoubtedly the age of the Antonines was much better than any later age until the Renaissance, from the point of view of the general happiness.
- One advantage of having profitable companies in Britain is that they pay large sums in corporate tax into the Exchequer, which in theory at least is used for the general good.
- For these successes he obtained the rank of Field-Marshal General .
- He becomes the chief chartered libertine, the whoremaster-general flourishing his "standard" over a female army [...].
- ‘I can't quite afford you the sympathy you expect upon this score,’ I replied; ‘the misfortune is so general , that it belongs to one half of the species [...].’
- The general opinion on Baz Luhrmann's overstuffed epic Australia seems to be that it throws in everything but the kitchen sink, and then tosses that in too, just to be sure.
- M. Venizelos went to Athens from Paris early last January in response to a general invitation from the Greek populace.
- Supraventricular tachycardia (SVT) is a general term indicating a rapid heartbeat (tachycardia) coming from the top chambers of the heart - in essence, above (supra) the lower chamber (ventricular).
- As she thus spoke, the entrance of the servants with dinner cut off all conversation but that of a general nature.
- The quick answer is that the 1893 Exposition was simply so important -- "the greatest event in the history of the country since the Civil War," as Harper's put it that October -- but that feels too general .
- Given the scarcity of relevant historical detail in the New Testament, we are left with only a general outline about Joseph.
- There was a moment's pause. The Princess broke in with some casual remark and once more the conversation became general .
- Already in the primary school work is conducted for the purpose of equipping the pupils with those elements of general knowledge which are closely related to the military preparation of future warriors.
- His measured, springless walk was the walk of the skilled countryman as distinct from the desultory shamble of the general labourer [...].
Antonyms
* particular * specificDerived terms
* agent general * brigadier general * colonel general * generality * generally * generalisation, generalization * generalise, generalize * general anaesthetic * general knowledge * in general * lieutenant general * major generalNoun
(en noun)- Hannibal was one of the greatest generals of the ancient world.
Usage notes
When used as a title, it is always capitalized. : Example: General John Doe. The rank corresponds to pay grade O-10. Abbreviations: GEN.See also
* hetmanVerb
Statistics
*Anagrams
* 1000 English basic words ----staple
English
Etymology 1
(The Staple) From (etyl) estaple, (etyl) . Compare staff.Noun
(en noun)- The customs of Alexandria were very great, it having been the staple of the Indian trade.
- For the increase of trade and the encouragement of the worthy burgesses of Woodstock, her majesty was minded to erect the town into a staple for wool.
- Calais was one of the ‘principal treasures’ of the crown, of both strategic and economic importance. It was home to the staple , the crown-controlled marketplace for England's lucrative textile trade, whose substantial customs and tax revenues flooded into Henry's coffers.
- Whitehall naturally became the chief staple of news. Whenever there was a rumour that any thing important had happened or was about to happen, people hastened thither to obtain intelligence from the fountain head.
- We should now say, Cotton is the great staple , that is, the established merchandize, of Manchester.
- The pastoral industry, which had weathered the severe depression of the early forties by recourse to boiling down the sheep for their tallow, and was now firmly re-established as the staple industry of the colony, was threatened once more with eclipse.
- Rice is a staple in the diet of many cultures.
- In most countries, rubbish makes headlines only when it is not collected, and stinking sacks lie heaped on the streets. In Britain bins are a front-page staple .
- Tow is flax with short staple .
Verb
(stapl)- to staple cotton
Adjective
(-)- a staple town
- a staple trade
- (Dryden)
- (Swift)
- wool, the great staple commodity of England
Etymology 2
Probably from (etyl) , from (etyl).Noun
(en noun)- Can you believe they use staples to hold cars together these days?
- The rancher used staples to attach the barbed wire to the fence-posts.
- Fortunately, there were staples in the quay wall, and she was able to climb out of the water.
- (Camden)