generalist

[jen-er-uh-list]

noun

a person whose knowledge, aptitudes, and skills are applied to a field as a whole or to a variety of different fields (opposed to specialist).

Origin of generalist

First recorded in 1605–15; general + -ist

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for generalist

Contemporary Examples of generalist

Finally if there is anything left over we can explore the possibility of outsourcing the task to a specialist or generalist.
How To Create Your Own User Manual
Ari Meisel
February 18, 2014
You could be a generalist—a poet/mollusk scientist/seafarer/surgeon.
A.J. Jacobs: How I Write
Noah Charney
May 29, 2013

Historical Examples of generalist

Pleasure and recreation are the only things in which an individual should be a generalist.
Dollars and Sense
Col. Wm. C. Hunter
When this nation of ours was born nearly every one was a generalist.
Dollars and Sense
Col. Wm. C. Hunter
Be a generalist in pleasure and recreation, but not in business.
Dollars and Sense
Col. Wm. C. Hunter
Woe to the specialist who is not a pretty fair generalist, and woe to the generalist who is not also a bit of a specialist.
The Note-Books of Samuel Butler
Samuel Butler
Make the generalist think of himself in connection with large movements.
Analyzing Character
Katherine M. H. Blackford and Arthur Newcomb

British Dictionary definitions for generalist

generalist

noun

a person who is knowledgeable in many fields of study
(as modifier)a generalist profession

ecology an organism able to utilize many food sources and therefore able to flourish in many habitatsCompare specialist (def. 3)

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for generalist

1610s, from general (adj.) + -ist.

generalist in Medicine

generalist

[jĕn′ər-ə-lĭst]

n.

A physician whose practice is not oriented in a specific medical specialty but instead covers a variety of medical problems.