Marshal vs. General — What's the Difference?

Marshal is a term used in several official titles in various branches of society. As marshals became trusted members of the courts of Medieval Europe, the title grew in reputation.

Affecting or concerning all or most people or things; widespread

An officer of the highest rank in the armed forces of some countries

Considering or including only the main features or elements of something; not exact or detailed

A federal or municipal law-enforcement officer.

Chief or principal

An official responsible for supervising sports events, and for controlling crowds in other public events

A commander of an army, or an army officer of very high rank.

(in the UK) an official accompanying a judge on circuit to act as secretary and personal assistant.

The general public.

Assemble and arrange (a group of people, especially troops) in order

Concerned with, applicable to, or affecting the whole or every member of a class or category

Combine (coats of arms) to indicate marriage, descent, or the bearing of office

Affecting or characteristic of the majority of those involved; prevalent

A military officer of the highest rank in some countries.

Of or affecting the entire body

A field marshal.

Being usually the case; true or applicable in most instances but not all

An officer of the courts of the United States who performs various duties such as protecting judges, transporting prisoners, and apprehending fugitives.

Not limited in scope, area, or application

A public official who performs various duties for the courts of a city, such as enforcing orders for money judgments or evictions.

Not limited to or dealing with one class of things; diversified

The head of a police or fire department in the United States.

Involving only the main features rather than precise details

A person in charge of a parade or ceremony.

Highest or superior in rank

A high official in a royal court, especially one aiding the sovereign in military affairs.

A commissioned rank in the US Army, Air Force, or Marine Corps that is above lieutenant general.

To arrange or place (troops, for example) in line for a parade, maneuver, or review.

One who holds this rank or a similar rank in another military organization.

To arrange, place, or set in methodical order

A general officer.

To enlist and organize

A statement, principle, or fact that embraces or is applicable to the whole.

To guide ceremoniously; conduct or usher.

General anesthesia.

To take up positions in a military formation.

(Archaic) The public.

To take form or order

Including or involving every part or member of a given or implied entity, whole etc.; as opposed to specific or particular.

(historical) A high-ranking officer in the household of a medieval prince or lord, who was originally in charge of the cavalry and later the military forces in general.

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.

A military officer of the highest rank in several countries, including France and the former Soviet Union; equivalent to a general of the army in the United States. See also field marshal.

Prevalent or widespread among a given class or area; common, usual.

A person in charge of the ceremonial arrangement and management of a gathering.

Not limited in use or application; applicable to the whole or every member of a class or category.

(US) A federal lawman.

Giving or consisting of only the most important aspects of something, ignoring minor details; indefinite.

To arrange troops, etc. in line for inspection or a parade.

Not limited to a specific class; miscellaneous, concerned with all branches of a given subject or area.

(by extension) To arrange facts, etc. in some methodical order.

A general fact or proposition; a generality.

To ceremoniously guide, conduct or usher.

(military ranks) The holder of 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.

To gather data for transmission.

A great strategist or tactician.

To serialize an object into a marshalled state represented by a sequence of bytes that can later be converted back into an object with equivalent properties.

(Christianity) The head of certain religious orders, especially Dominicans or Jesuits.

Originally, an officer who had the care of horses; a groom.

(nautical) A commander of naval forces; an admiral.

An officer of high rank, charged with the arrangement of ceremonies, the conduct of operations, or the like

A general servant; a maid with no specific duties.

To dispose in order; to arrange in a suitable manner; as, to marshal troops or an army.

(countable) A general anesthetic.

To direct, guide, or lead.

(uncountable) General anesthesia.

To dispose in due order, as the different quarterings on an escutcheon, or the different crests when several belong to an achievement.

The general insurance industry.

A law officer having duties similar to those of a sheriff in carrying out the judgments of a court of law

(xiangqi) A xiangqi piece, that is moved one point orthogonally and confined within the palace.

(in some countries) a military officer of highest rank

To lead (soldiers) as a general.

Place in proper rank;

(obsolete) In a general or collective manner or sense; in most cases; upon the whole.

Arrange in logical order;

Relating to a genus or kind; pertaining to a whole class or order; as, a general law of animal or vegetable economy.

Make ready for action or use;

Comprehending many species or individuals; not special or particular; including all particulars; as, a general inference or conclusion.

Lead ceremoniously, as in a procession

Not restrained or limited to a precise import; not specific; vague; indefinite; lax in signification; as, a loose and general expression.

Common to many, or the greatest number; widely spread; prevalent; extensive, though not universal; as, a general opinion; a general custom.

Having a relation to all; common to the whole; as, Adam, our general sire.

As a whole; in gross; for the most part.

Usual; common, on most occasions; as, his general habit or method.

The whole; the total; that which comprehends or relates to all, or the chief part; - opposed to particular.

One of the chief military officers of a government or country; the commander of an army, of a body of men not less than a brigade. In European armies, the highest military rank next below field marshal.

The roll of the drum which calls the troops together; as, to beat the general.

The chief of an order of monks, or of all the houses or congregations under the same rule.

The public; the people; the vulgar.

A general officer of the highest rank

The head of a religious order or congregation

A fact about the whole (as opposed to particular);

Command as a general;

Applying to all or most members of a category or group;

Not specialized or limited to one class of things;

Of national scope;

Prevailing among and common to the general public;

Affecting the entire body;

Somewhat indefinite;

Of worldwide scope or applicability;