Where does “universitas” come from?
universitas (Latin) comes from Latin ūniversus, 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 “universitas”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | Latin | ūniversus | — |
| 2 | Latin | versus | turned, changed, having been turned; towards,... |
| 3 | Latin | vertō | — |
| 4 | Proto-Italic | wertō | — |
| 5 | Proto-Indo-European | wert- | to turn, to rotate |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | wer- | to burn; to cover, heed, notice; squirrel |