Made broad or applicable to many cases rather than specific; adapted to apply widely rather than to one particular thing.
From generalize (late 16th century, from French généraliser), derived from Latin generalis meaning 'of or relating to a whole group.' The -ize suffix comes from Greek -izein, meaning 'to cause to be' or 'to treat as.'
The British spelling 'generalised' shows how English speakers on different sides of the Atlantic preserved different versions of this word—it's a tiny fossil of colonial history frozen in spelling! This word became crucial during the Scientific Revolution when scientists realized that observations from specific experiments could be generalized into universal laws.
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