"universal" in seven languages
Meaninguniversal
Spanish
universal
/unibeɾˈsal/
learned
French
universel
/ynivɛʁsɛl/
learned
fem.: universelle
Italian
universale
/univerˈsale/
learned
Portuguese
universal
/univehˈsaw/
learned
Romanian
universal
/univerˈsal/
learned
Catalan
universal
/unibərˈsal/
learned
English
universal
/ˌjunəˈvɝsəl/
from Latin/French · Latin ūniversālis, partly via Old French
English → ItalianuniversaluniversaleCognateSame source — inherited, learned or borrowed. You can recognize it.What English and Italian share
The Latin ancestor
ŪNIVERSĀLEM‘of the whole (ŪNIVERSUS 'turned into one')’
All six sisters descend from it, unless marked otherwise below.
The story
ŪNIVERSUS is 'turned into one' (ŪNUS + VERSUS). A medieval universitas was the whole body of masters and students, hence university.
English relatives: universe, university
Learn it
In a sentence
- esLa música es un lenguaje universal.
- frLa musique est un langage universel.
- itLa musica è un linguaggio universale.
- ptA música é uma linguagem universal.
- roMuzica este o limbă universală.
- caLa música és un llenguatge universal.
- enMusic is a universal language.
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