Where does “generalist” come from?
Generalist comes from English general plus the suffix -ist, from Middle French general, from Latin generalis, from Latin -alis, from Proto-Italic genos, from Proto-Indo-European ǵenh₁- meaning to beget or produce.
generalist (English): A person with a broad general knowledge,...
Definitions
- A person with a broad general knowledge,...
Ancestry of “generalist”, step by step
generalist traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via English General
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | General | The military officer title |
| 2 | Middle English | general | universal, complete; comprehensive, wide-ranging;... |
| 3 | Anglo-Norman | general | general |
| 4 | Latin | generalis | general, generic |
| 5 | Latin | genus | birth, origin, lineage, descent; kind, type,... |
| 6 | Proto-Italic | genos | lineage, origin |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | ǵénh₁os | race, lineage |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | ǵenh₁- | to produce, to beget, to give birth |
via French généraliste
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | French | généraliste | generalist (person with a broad general knowledge) |
| 2 | French | -iste | -ist; -istic |