Etymology Explorer › Middle Dutch

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

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Old Frenchuniversiteiuniversity
2Medieval Latinuniversitasgroup of teachers and students; university;...
3Latinūniversitās—
4Latinūniversus—
5Latinversusturned, changed, having been turned; towards,...
6Latinvertō—
7Proto-Italicwertō—
8Proto-Indo-Europeanwert-to turn, to rotate
9Proto-Indo-Europeanwer-to burn; to cover, heed, notice; squirrel

Words derived from “universiteit”

  • universiteit
  • volksuniversiteit
  • universitet
  • universiteit
Every word from Proto-Indo-European wer- →