Universal

Pronunciation

• UK IPA: /ËŒjuːnɪˈvɜːsl/
• US IPA: /ËŒjuːnɪˈvɜːrsl/Rhymes: -ɜː(r)sÉ™l

Origin

From Latin universalis.

Full definition of universal

Adjective

1. Of or pertaining to the universe.
2. Common to all members of a group or class.
• 1922, Henry Ford, S:My Life and Work/4, I had been planning every day through these years toward a universal car.
• 1911, S:1911 Encyclopædia Britannica/A, In Logic, the letter A is used as a symbol for the universal affirmative proposition in the general form "all x is y."
3. Common to all society; world-wideShe achieved universal fame.
4. Cosmic; unlimited; vast; infinite
5. Useful for many purposes, e.g., universal wrench.

Derived terms

• universalise, universalize
• universal quantifier

Related terms

• universe
• university

Antonyms

• nonuniversal

Noun

1. (philosophy) A characteristic or property that particular things have in common.
• 1912, Bertrand Russel, S: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".