[a] In some usages, the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colonel.
[1] The adjective general had been affixed to officer designations since the late medieval period to indicate relative superiority or an extended jurisdiction.
Usually it is the most senior peacetime rank, with more senior ranks (for example, field marshal, marshal of the air force, fleet admiral) being used only in wartime or as honorary titles.
The rank of captain-general began appearing around the time of the organisation of professional armies in the 17th century.
A noteworthy historical exception was the Cromwellian naval rank "general at sea".