universal - Wiktionary, the free dictionary (original) (raw)

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary

From Middle English universal, from Old French universal (modern French universel), from Latin ūniversālis, equivalent to universe +‎ -al.

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.
    • 1955 January, Charles E. Lee, “The Glasgow Underground Railway”, in Railway Magazine, page 24:
      Eventually, the railway opened on Monday, December 14, 1896, with a universal fare of 1d. collected at the turnstiles, and conditions were immediately chaotic, as many passengers travelled round and round, and refused to leave the cars.
    • 2022 January 30, Steve Slevinski, “Formal SignWriting”, in IETF‎[1], archived from the original on 30 April 2024:
      Sutton SignWriting is the universal and complete solution for written sign language, ISO 15924 script code "Sgnw".
  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.
    • 1983, Wendy Griswold, “The Devil's Techniques: Cultural Legitimation and Social Change”, in American Sociological Review‎[2], volume 48, number 5, page 670a of 668–680:
      Playwrights have recognized the usefulness of this archetype and used him in many dramatic contexts, for the Trickster's freedom from determination gives him a universal fascination.
  5. Useful for many purposes; all-purpose.
    universal wrench

of or pertaining to the universe

common to all members of a group or class

common to all society, world-wide

cosmic, unlimited

useful for many purposes

Translations to be checked

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[3]:
      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.

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

universal m or f (masculine and feminine plural universals)

  1. universal
  1. ^ “universal”, in Gran Diccionari de la Llengua Catalana, Grup Enciclopèdia Catalana, 2026

universal

  1. universal

universal

  1. alternative spelling of universel

Inflection of universal

| | positive | comparative | superlative | | | -------------------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ----------- | -- | | indefinite 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.

From Latin ūniversālis.

universal m or f (plural universais)

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

Borrowed from Latin ūniversālis.

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

  1. universal

Positive forms of universal

Comparative forms of universal

Superlative forms of universal

Internationalism, from Latin ūniversālis.

universal (comparative lebih universal, superlative paling universal)

  1. universal:
    1. of or pertaining to the universe
    2. common to all members of a group or class
      Synonym: umum
    3. common to all society; worldwide
    4. unlimited; vast; infinite
    5. useful for many purposes; all-purpose

universal (plural **universal-universal)

  1. universal

Borrowed from Middle French universel, and its etymon Latin ūniversālis; equivalent to universe +‎ -al.

universal (especially Late Middle English)

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

universal

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

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

From Latin ūniversālis.

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

  1. universal

From Latin ūniversālis.

universal m (oblique and nominative feminine singular universale)

  1. universal

universal

  1. universal

From Latin ūniversālis.

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)

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

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

  1. universal

From Latin ūniversālis.

universal m or f (masculine and feminine plural universales)

  1. universal