universal

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

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˌjuːnɪˈvɜːsl̩/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /ˌjunɪˈvɝsl̩/

• Audio (US)

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• Hyphenation: uni‧ver‧sal
• Rhymes: -ɜː(ɹ)səl

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[acob] and R[ichard] 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

• (common to all members of a group or class): general; see also Thesaurus:generic
• (unlimited): see also Thesaurus:infinite
• (useful for many purposes): general-purpose, multi-purpose

• nonuniversal

• universe
• university
• universality

• general
• global

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.

• particular

• “universal”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.
• “universal”, in The Century Dictionary […], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911, →OCLC.
• S:Catholic Encyclopedia (1913)/Universals
• The Medieval Problem of Universals - Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy

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

• IPA^(key): (Central) [u.ni.βərˈsal]
• IPA^(key): (Balearic) [u.ni.vərˈsal]
• IPA^(key): (Valencian) [u.ni.veɾˈsal]

universal m or f (masculine and feminine plural universals)

1. universal

• universalment

• univers
• universalitat

• “universal” in Diccionari de la llengua catalana, segona edició, Institut d’Estudis Catalans.
• “universal” in Diccionari normatiu valencià, Acadèmia Valenciana de la Llengua.
• “universal” in Diccionari català-valencià-balear, Antoni Maria Alcover and Francesc de Borja Moll, 1962.

universal

1. universal

• “universal”, in Luğatçıq (in Russian)

universal

1. Alternative spelling of universel

• “universal” in Den Danske Ordbog

From Latin ūniversālis.

• IPA^(key): /unibeɾˈsal/ [u.ni.β̞eɾˈs̺ɑɫ]
• Rhymes: -al
• Hyphenation: u‧ni‧ver‧sal

universal m or f (plural universais)

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

   Synonym: mundial

• universalmente

• universalidade
• universo

• “universal”, in Dicionario da Real Academia Galega (in Galician), A Coruña: Royal Galician Academy, since 2012

Borrowed from Latin ūniversālis.

• IPA^(key): /univɛʁˈzaːl/
• Rhymes: -aːl

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

1. universal

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

• universall, unyversal, universalle, universell, uniyversale, universele, universel

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

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

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.

• universalite
• universally

• English: universal

• “ūniversā̆l, adj.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007, retrieved 2018-04-31.

universal

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

• English: universal

• “ūniversā̆l, adj.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007, retrieved 2018-04-31.

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

• “ūniversā̆l, adj.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007, retrieved 2018-04-31.

From Latin ūniversālis.

• Audio (Languedocien)

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

1. universal

• universalament

• univèrs
• universalitat

From Latin ūniversālis.

universal m (oblique and nominative feminine singular universale)

1. universal

• French: universel
• → Middle English: universal, universall, unyversal, universalle, universell, uniyversale, universele, universel
  • English: universal

• üniversal

• IPA^(key): /ynivɛrˈsal/

universal

1. universal

From Latin ūniversālis.

• Hyphenation: u‧ni‧ver‧sal

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

For quotations using this term, see Citations:universal.

• universalmente

• universalidade
• universo

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

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

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

1. universal

• universalitate

From Latin ūniversālis.

• IPA^(key): /unibeɾˈsal/ [u.ni.β̞eɾˈsal]
• Rhymes: -al
• Syllabification: u‧ni‧ver‧sal

universal m or f (masculine and feminine plural universales)

1. universal

• “universal”, in Diccionario de la lengua española, Vigésima tercera edición, Real Academia Española, 2014

• vulneráis