The idiom “generally” means “usually” or “all things considered” with few exceptions. It likely originated from nautical terms “by” and “large” describing sailing into or with the wind. Its usage remains consistent and describes something that happens most of the time. Misinterpretations include using it to mean “sometimes” or that something almost happened.
The phrase “generally” is an idiom meaning “generally”, “usually” or “all things considered”, all of which are used to describe a fact or rule that has few exceptions. Other frequently cited definitions for the idiom include “in all cases” and “in any case”, which are interpreted similarly to the other definitions. The origin of the idiom varies somewhat from source to source, but an idea common to all interpretations suggests that it comes from terms used in navigation.
Because there is so little situation-to-situation variation in the definition of this phrase, the usage also generally remains the same. For example, a business owner may describe his company’s good results by explaining that “In general, things are going exactly according to plan here”. Similarly, an individual living in a big city might complain that “City traffic is so awful, overall, that it’s impossible to get anywhere on time.” In both very different situations, the uses of the idiom were meant to explain that something specific happens most of the time.
Occasionally, people misinterpret this idiom to mean that something almost happened instead of something that almost always happens. For example, an excited student in a high school play might say, “We filled the auditorium, in general.” A more common misuse of the idiom occurs when someone uses it to mean “sometimes,” as in saying “In general, we order our products from this distributor, but we also go to the one down the street quite often.”
It is commonly accepted that ‘generally’ describes two navigational situations, and thus the idiom probably derived from the use of nautical terms. The nautical terms “by” and “large” describe sailing into the wind and sailing with the wind, respectively. One interpretation of the idiom states that since a ship cannot sail both into and with the wind at the same time, and that while underway, the ship must do one or the other at all times, “by” and “large ” are the only two possible options. Therefore, if something happens both when the ship is sailing “by” and “large,” it happens most or all of the time. In general it has since developed to be interpreted as saying “as a general rule” because something that happens in general happens most or all of the time.
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