universal English · revision 4879

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

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: UK /ˌjuː.nɪˈvɜː.səl/, US /ˌjuː.nəˈvɝː.səl/^(Roach et al. 2011)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|enm|universel]], universal, [[bor|fro|universel]] and directly from [[la|ūniversālis|t=of or belonging to all]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) from ūniversus “all together, whole, entire”,^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) the source of [[universe]], and the suffix [[-al]].^(Barnhart 1988)^(MWU 2024)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ Extending over or including the whole of something: about 1374 in the OED, about 1380 in Barnhart, in Chaucer's translation of Boethius.^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Of or relating to the universe or all things in it is from 1390.^(OED 1989)^(Hoad 1986) In the 15th century it described the Catholic Church as a whole,^(Hoad 1986) and in the 16th century a person of wide learning.^(Hoad 1986) As a noun in logic and philosophy, an abstraction from particulars, it is from the late 14th century in Etymonline,^(Etymonline) and a universal proposition from 1553 in Barnhart.^(Barnhart 1988) The ''universal joint'' in mechanics is from the 1670s,^(Etymonline) and the ''universal product code'' from 1974.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 1374 – including the whole.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1390 – of the universe.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1553 – noun, a universal proposition.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1670s – ''universal joint''.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1974 – ''universal product code''.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Adjective===

+ # Affecting or including everyone or everything in the world or a group.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # True or suitable in all cases.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # Relating to the whole [[universe]].^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ===Noun===

+ # ''(philosophy)'' A general [[concept]] or term, or a universal [[proposition]].^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # A feature or pattern of behaviour common to all members of a group or culture.^(AHD)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[universally]]

+ * [[universalness]]

+ * [[subuniversal]]

+ * [[superuniversal]]

+ * [[universalism]]

+ * [[universalist]]

+ * [[universalistic]]

+ * [[universalize]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[universe]]

+ * [[university]]

+ * [[universality]]

+ * [[one]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}