universal

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English

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Etymology

From Middle English universal, from Old French universal (modern French universel), from Latin ūniversālis.

Pronunciation

Adjective

universal (comparative more universal, superlative most universal)

  1. Of or pertaining to the universe.
  2. Common to all members of a group or class.
    • 1911, 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica:
      In Logic, the letter A is used as a symbol for the universal affirmative proposition in the general form "all x is y."
    • 1922, Henry Ford, Samuel Crowther, chapter 4, in My Life and Work, Garden City, New York: Garden City Publishing Company, Inc., →OCLC:
      I had been planning every day through these years toward a universal car.
  3. Common to all society; worldwide.
    She achieved universal fame.
    • a. 1701 (date written), John Dryden, “The Life of John Dryden, Esq.”, in The Miscellaneous Works of John Dryden, , volume I, London: J and R Tonson, , published 1760, →OCLC, page xiii:
      [John] Dryden's univerſal genius, his firmly eſtablished reputation, and the glory his memory muſt always reflect upon the nation that gave him birth, make us ardently wiſh for a more accurate life of him than any which has hitherto appeared: []
  4. Unlimited; vast; infinite.
  5. Useful for many purposes; all-purpose.
    universal wrench

Synonyms

Antonyms

Derived terms

Translations

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

See also

Noun

universal (plural universals)

  1. (philosophy) A characteristic or property that particular things have in common.
    • 1912, Bertrand Russel, The Problems of Philosophy, Chapter 9:
      When we examine common words, we find that, broadly speaking, proper names stand for particulars, while other substantives, adjectives, prepositions, and verbs stand for universals.
    • 1970, John R. Searle, Speech acts:
      We might also distinguish those expressions which are used to refer to individuals or particulars from those which are used to refer to what philosophers have called universals: e.g., to distinguish such expressions as "Everest" and "this chair" from "the number three", "the color red" and "drunkenness".
    • 2021, Meghan O'Gieblyn, chapter 11, in God, Human, Animal, Machine , →ISBN:
      Empiricism was similarly a response to this loss of universals—a radically contingent world with no underlying order must constantly be studied and tested—and made God himself unnecessary: divine spirit and human spirit were alien enough to each other that they could function without taking each other into account.

See also

Further reading

Catalan

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin ūniversālis. First attested in c. 1400.[1]

Pronunciation

Adjective

universal m or f (masculine and feminine plural universals)

  1. universal

Derived terms

References

  1. ^ universal”, in Gran Diccionari de la Llengua Catalana, Grup Enciclopèdia Catalana, 2024

Further reading

Crimean Tatar

Adjective

universal

  1. universal

References

Danish

Adjective

universal

  1. Alternative spelling of universel

Inflection

Inflection of universal
Positive Comparative Superlative
Indefinte common singular universal 2
Indefinite neuter singular universalt 2
Plural universale 2
Definite attributive1 universale
1) When an adjective is applied predicatively to something definite, the corresponding "indefinite" form is used.
2) The "indefinite" superlatives may not be used attributively.

References

Galician

Etymology

From Latin ūniversālis.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /unibeɾˈsal/
  • Rhymes: -al
  • Hyphenation: u‧ni‧ver‧sal

Adjective

universal m or f (plural universais)

  1. of or pertaining to the universe
  2. world-wide, universal, common to all cultures
    Synonym: mundial

Derived terms

Further reading

German

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin ūniversālis.

Pronunciation

Adjective

universal (strong nominative masculine singular universaler, comparative universaler, superlative am universalsten)

  1. universal

Declension

Further reading

  • universal” in Duden online
  • universal” in Digitales Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache

Middle English

Alternative forms

Etymology

From Old French universel, from Latin ūniversālis; equivalent to universe +‎ -al.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /iu̯niˈvɛrsal/, /iu̯nivɛrˈsaːl/, /iu̯niˈvɛrsɛl/

Adjective

universal

  1. all-encompassing, subject to everything and everyone; having universal significance.
  2. (Late Middle English) absolute, subject to everything in a given area or subject (e.g. a settlement; a person)
  3. (Late Middle English) frequently practiced, usual, customary.
  4. (Late Middle English, rare) Given total leeway and control; with universal power.
  5. (Late Middle English, rare) unbiased, unprejudiced, nonpolitical
  6. (Late Middle English, rare) general, non-specific, generic
  7. (Late Middle English, philosophy, rare) unformed, uncreated, unmade.
  8. (Late Middle English, philosophy, rare) theoretical, abstract, general.

Derived terms

Descendants

  • English: universal

References

Noun

universal

  1. (Late Middle English, philosophy, rare) A category, class, or classification.

Descendants

References

Determiner

universal

  1. (Late Middle English) The whole, all of, every portion of, all parts of.
  2. (Late Middle English, rare) Every kind of; all sorts of

References

Occitan

Etymology

From Latin ūniversālis.

Pronunciation

Adjective

universal m (feminine singular universala, masculine plural universals, feminine plural universalas)

  1. universal

Derived terms

Old French

Etymology

From Latin ūniversālis.

Adjective

universal m (oblique and nominative feminine singular universale)

  1. universal

Descendants

Piedmontese

Alternative forms

Pronunciation

Adjective

universal

  1. universal

Portuguese

Etymology

From Latin ūniversālis.

Pronunciation

 
 

  • Hyphenation: u‧ni‧ver‧sal

Adjective

universal m or f (plural universais, comparable, comparative mais universal, superlative o mais universal or universalíssimo)

  1. (relational) universe; universal
  2. common to all society; universal; world-wide
  3. common to all members of a group or class; universal
    • 1999, Os pecados da língua: pequeno repertório de grandes erros de linguagem, Editora AGE Ltda., →ISBN, page 114:
      Símbolos
      ☞ Não se usa o ponto indicativo de abreviação: km, m l, kg.
      ☞ Têm formas iguais para singular e plural.
      ☞ São de uso universal e irrestrito.
      (please add an English translation of this quotation)

Derived terms

Further reading

  • universal” in Dicionário Aberto based on Novo Diccionário da Língua Portuguesa de Cândido de Figueiredo, 1913

Romanian

Etymology

Borrowed from French universel, from Latin universalis. By surface analysis, univers +‎ -al.

Adjective

universal m or n (feminine singular universală, masculine plural universali, feminine and neuter plural universale)

  1. universal

Declension

Spanish

Etymology

From Latin ūniversālis.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /unibeɾˈsal/
  • Rhymes: -al
  • Syllabification: u‧ni‧ver‧sal

Adjective

universal m or f (masculine and feminine plural universales)

  1. universal

Derived terms

Further reading

Anagrams