universe English · revision 4410

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=c. 1374|origins=la universum}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: UK /ˈjuː.nɪ.vɜːs/, US /ˈjuː.nə.vɝːs/^(Roach et al. 2011)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[bor|frm|univers]], Old French univers (12th century),^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) and directly from [[la|ūniversum|t=all things, the whole world]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) the noun use of the neuter of [[m|la|ūniversus|t=all together, whole, entire]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(Hoad 1986) literally “turned into one”, from ūnus “one” and versus, past participle of vertere “to turn”.^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(Hoad 1986) Merriam-Webster Unabridged notes that Latin universum translated Greek to holon “the whole”.^(MWU 2024) The roots are [[ine-pro|*h₁óynos|alt=*oi-no-|t=one]] and [[ine-pro|*wer-|t=to turn, bend]].^(Etymonline) It is related to [[universal]], [[university]], [[one]] and [[verse]].^(Cresswell 2021)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ In the phrase ''in universe'', “universally”: about 1374 in the OED,^(OED 1989) about 1385 in Barnhart, in Chaucer's Troilus and Criseyde, perhaps after Italian universo in Boccaccio.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The whole of created or existing things, the cosmos, is from 1589, in Puttenham's Arte of English Poesie,^(Barnhart 1988)^(OED 1989)^(MWU 2024) the 1580s in Etymonline.^(Etymonline) The world or earth as the home of mankind is from 1630,^(OED 1989) the 17th century in Hoad,^(Hoad 1986) and mankind in general from 1742.^(OED 1989) A universe as one of many, or as a sphere of something, is from 1667,^(OED 1989) and in logic the ''universe of discourse'', the totality of things under consideration, from 1849.^(OED 1989) Johnson in 1755 defined it as “the general system of things”.^(Johnson 1755)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 1374 – ''in universe'', universally.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1589 – the whole of existing things.^(Barnhart 1988)^(OED 1989)

+ * 1630 – the earth, the world.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1667 – a universe, a sphere.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1742 – mankind.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1849 – ''universe of discourse''.^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # All [[matter]] and [[energy]], including the earth, the galaxies and the space between them, regarded as a whole; the [[cosmos]].^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # The earth with all its inhabitants; the human race.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # The sphere or realm in which something exists or takes place: ''her universe of friends''.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # ''(statistics, logic)'' The whole set of items under consideration.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[island universe]]

+ * [[universe of discourse]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[universal]]

+ * [[universal set]]

+ * [[university]]

+ * [[unite]]

+ * [[verse]]

+ * [[convert]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}