universalとは

発音

• (英国発音) IPA^(key): /ˌjuːnɪˈvɜːsl/
• (米国発音) IPA^(key): /ˌjuːnɪˈvɜːɹsl/

形容詞

universal (comparative more universal, superlative most universal)

1. Of or pertaining to the universe.
2. Common to all members of a group or class.
   • 1922, Henry Ford, My Life and Work:

     I had been planning every day through these years toward a universal car.

   • 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."

3. Common to all society; worldwide

   She achieved universal fame.

   • 1760, John Dryden, “The Life of John Dryden, Esq.”, in The Miscellaneous Works of John Dryden, […], volume I, London: Printed for J[acob] and R[ichard] Tonson, […], OCLC 863244003, 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

同意語

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

反意語

• nonuniversal

派生語

• universalise, universalize
• universal quantifier

関連する語

• universe
• university
• universality

参考

• universal on Wikipedia.
• general
• global

Further reading

• universal in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.
• universal in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911.

名詞

universal (複数形 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^[1]:

     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".

参考

• particular

Further reading

• S:Catholic Encyclopedia (1913)/Universals
• The Medieval Problem of Universals - Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy