Where does “Universe” come from?
Universe (English) comes from Middle English universe, from Old French univers, from Latin ūniversum, from Latin versus, from Latin vertō, from Proto-Italic wertō, from Proto-Indo-European wert-, from Proto-Indo-European wer- — to burn; to cover, heed, notice; squirrel.
Ancestry of “Universe”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | Middle English | universe | The universe; the stars |
| 2 | Old French | univers | the whole world; the whole Earth; universal;... |
| 3 | Latin | ūniversum | — |
| 4 | Latin | versus | turned, changed, having been turned; towards,... |
| 5 | Latin | vertō | — |
| 6 | Proto-Italic | wertō | — |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | wert- | to turn, to rotate |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | wer- | to burn; to cover, heed, notice; squirrel |