Where does “universel” come from?
universel (Middle French) comes from Latin universalis, 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 “universel”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Latin | universalis | universal; general |
| 2 | Latin | ūniversus | whole, entire, taken collectively or altogether |
| 3 | Latin | versus | turned, changed, having been turned; towards,... |
| 4 | Latin | vertō | to turn, turn oneself, direct one's way, to turn about, turn around, revolve |
| 5 | Proto-Italic | wertō | to turn |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | wert- | to turn, to rotate |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | wer- | to burn; to cover, heed, notice; squirrel |