Where does “université” come from?
université (French) comes from Old French universitei, from Medieval Latin universitas, from Latin ūniversitās, from Latin ūniversus, from Latin versus, from Latin vertō, from Proto-Italic wertō, from Proto-Indo-European wert- — to burn; to cover, heed, notice; squirrel.
université (French): university
Definitions
- university
Ancestry of “université”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Old French | universitei | university |
| 2 | Medieval Latin | universitas | group of teachers and students; university;... |
| 3 | Latin | ūniversitās | the whole |
| 4 | Latin | ūniversus | whole, entire, taken collectively or altogether |
| 5 | Latin | versus | turned, changed, having been turned; towards,... |
| 6 | Latin | vertō | to turn, turn oneself, direct one's way, to turn about, turn around, revolve |
| 7 | Proto-Italic | wertō | to turn |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | wert- | to turn, to rotate |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | wer- | to burn; to cover, heed, notice; squirrel |