Where does “universiteit” come from?
universiteit (Middle Dutch) 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.
Ancestry of “universiteit”, 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 |