Etymograph

English

universe

Universe comes from Middle English universe, from Old French univers ‘the whole world’, from Latin ūniversus ‘whole’, literally ‘turned into one’.

  1. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEūniversus1‘whole, entire’
  2. Old Frenchc. 842–1400univers1‘the whole world’
  3. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500universe1‘the universe’
  4. Englishearliest quotation 1669universe1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English universe
  2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1669, John Nievhoff, London: John Macock: “Under our new World may alſo be compriſed thoſe…”.

Lineage

  1. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEūniversusWiktionary, English universe‘whole, entire’
  2. Old Frenchc. 842–1400universWiktionary, English universe‘the whole world’
  3. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500universeWiktionary, English universe‘the universe’
  4. Englishearliest quotation 1669universeWiktionary, English universe. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1669, John Nievhoff, London: John Macock: “Under our new World may alſo be compriſed thoſe…”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *wert- ‘to turn, to rotate, spin’

word, worth, weird, version, ridiculous, conversation, divorce, vertical, diversity, vortex, advertisement, ridicule, diverse, convertible, versatile, adverse, advert, revert, pervert, adversity, divert, vertex, vertigo, diversification, avert, inverse, transverse, vertebrate, derision, introvert, subvert, vert, perverse, averse, deride, wurst, derisive, perversity, 66 more

through Latin versus ‘turned, changed, having been turned’

versus, verso, 11 more

Today it means

name The sum of everything that exists in the cosmos.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “universe”. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Latin ūniversus / universe

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