Where does “universal” come from?
Universal comes from Middle English universal, from Old French universal, from Latin universalis, formed from versus meaning "turned" and the suffix -alis, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European wer-.
universal (English): Of or pertaining to the universe; Common to all...
Definitions
- Of or pertaining to the universe; Common to all...
Ancestry of “universal”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | Middle English | universal | all-encompassing, subject to everything and... |
| 2 | Old French | universal | universal |
| 3 | Latin | universalis | universal; general |
| 4 | Latin | ūniversus | — |
| 5 | Latin | versus | turned, changed, having been turned; towards,... |
| 6 | Latin | vertō | — |
| 7 | Proto-Italic | wertō | — |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | wert- | to turn, to rotate |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | wer- | to burn; to cover, heed, notice; squirrel |
Words derived from “universal”