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Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English
universal
adjective
COLLOCATIONS FROM OTHER ENTRIES
a universal theme (=subjects that affect people of all races and cultures)
▪ Readers everywhere can relate to the universal themes in his work.
universal approval (=from everyone)
▪ His appointment has been met with almost universal approval.
universal joint
Universal Product Code
COLLOCATIONS FROM CORPUS
■ ADVERB
almost
▪ Colour-printing will soon become almost universal.
▪ There are, however, images that are almost universal, such as the cross or the spiral.
▪ The perception of women's inability to take on managerial positions are almost universal.
▪ Most important for our day is the almost universal support among economists for free trade and opposition to tariffs and import quotas.
▪ A large brain relative to body size is an almost universal foetal characteristic of vertebrates, and certainly of mammals.
▪ This is mostly due to the almost universal lowering of expectations among diehard fans and casual observers.
▪ This provoked an almost universal howl of outrage in Britain.
▪ One obvious example is the almost universal ban against committing adultery with another man s wife.
as
▪ But if women learn their social orientation, it may not be as universal or as unchanging as these female-associated methods suggest.
more
▪ Those seeking more universal generalizations may use different methods from those that seek more contextually specific levels of explanation.
▪ Real love is calmer and less intense and more universal.
▪ Everywhere one notices attempts to introduce greater purity, greater justice, greater perfection and a more universal explanation of things.
▪ Any grubby social thoughts the film might have evoked can be swiftly rejected in favour of a more universal muse.
■ NOUN
access
▪ The heads of government also promised to foster equality for women, and universal access to education.
▪ Comprehensive health insurance and universal access to health care has the potential to facilitate this process and improve surveillance.
▪ The deregulatory approach under Gats also threatens universal access to public services, workers' rights, environmental regulations and public health.
▪ In the debate about the I-way architecture, one issue dominates all others: universal access.
▪ In particular, it may be considered desirable to have universal access to basic utilities and essential services.
▪ Others insist that highway operators must provide universal access at reasonable cost.
▪ Almost universal access has become possible, even when the person being contacted does not want it to occur.
adult
▪ All elections are by universal adult suffrage.
▪ There is a unicameral Legislative Assembly of 70 seats, 62 of which are elected by universal adult suffrage for five years.
▪ The unicameral legislature, the National Assembly, is also elected for a five-year term by universal adult suffrage.
▪ There is a Federal Assembly of 42 members, elected by universal adult suffrage for a five-year term.
▪ Legislative authority is now vested in a unicameral National Congress, with 100 members elected for five years by universal adult suffrage.
▪ Executive authority: the President; legislative authority: the National Assembly; both elected by universal adult suffrage.
▪ Both houses are elected by universal adult suffrage and for terms of no longer than four years.
agreement
▪ Many old principles no longer command universal agreement and there are well-supported demands for new principles.
▪ Of course there is no universal agreement on these issues.
▪ The phrase is a familiar one but this does not necessarily imply that there is universal agreement over its meaning.
▪ We note in passing that initially there was no universal agreement about what exactly constituted a group.
appeal
▪ Within the field of electronic media, the film medium has the most universal appeal and impact.
▪ Its archetypal shape and colour have universal appeal, evoking a sense of fun and childhood.
application
▪ These days a credit card has universal application.
▪ While this rule depends upon the provisions of the federal and state constitutions, the reasoning has universal application.
▪ In this respect the sections purport to be of universal application.
▪ In consequence some authors suggest that the conventionally applied log-normal probability law is not suitable for universal applications in grain size analysis.
church
▪ Franciscan legend thus presented the faithful a generation later with Francis as the allegorical saviour of the universal Church.
▪ Secondly the universal church remains the visible presence of our Lord in action.
education
▪ Gurder was right, universal education was not a good idea.
▪ It believed in universal education and attempted to implement that ideal.
▪ Some limited degree of universal education was another obvious step towards the strengthening of the State and the fostering of general well-being.
▪ Especially in this great age of universal education.
feature
▪ It is these types of health problems which are perceived as being an integral, inevitable and universal feature of old age.
▪ None the less, some universal features stand out.
▪ Some instruments do now have built-in reverberation effects, but this is a far from universal feature.
health
▪ This is not as horrifying a prospect as critics of universal health care suggest.
▪ Even a relatively modest addition to the liberal framework, universal health coverage, remains elusive.
▪ I believe that progressive legislation like universal health care is essential and would be good for individuals and good for the country.
▪ When he first came into office, Clinton did have a few grander purposes in mind, particularly universal health care.
joint
▪ Notes A gimbal is a kind of universal joint that allows free rotation within a range of angles.
▪ In mechanical terms, the head is an elliptical spheroid with a single universal joint, the neck.
language
▪ It was an encyclopedic work, setting out the concept of a universal language as a comprehensive taxonomic structure.
▪ Computer literacy is becoming the universal language of business.
▪ This augurs well for the future and underlines the truth that music as a universal language is an important resource for ecumenism.
▪ His other interests included alchemy, medical remedies, and universal language schemes.
▪ Music in fact is a universal language of a non-verbal nature which is rich in expression.
▪ Firstly, such systems will need to talk to each other in a flexible, universal language.
▪ However, there is one big problem here, and that is that there is not a universal language for horses.
▪ Film, especially Hollywood film, is the world's universal language.
law
▪ There was now a universal law of gravitation.
▪ This kind of theft was a universal law, like the pull of gravity.
▪ Fine, for instance, declares that there can be no universal laws for feminist psychology.
▪ This is a universal law of vivisystems: higher level complexities can not be inferred by lower-level existences.
principle
▪ Can we expect to find the fundamental and universal principles in development?
▪ Beyond that, everything else is essentially a context-specific attempt to put those few universal principles into practice.
service
▪ They were private individuals or partnerships, paid by the state to provide a universal service free at the point of use.
▪ Earlier this month, the Federal Communications Commission finally adopted the so-called universal service guidelines.
▪ This reserved area, however, should be strictly limited to what is necessary to provide a universal service.
▪ The universal service fund also should provide a lift to libraries that are trying to launch themselves into cyberspace.
▪ The definition of a universal service and hence of reserved services has yet to be drawn up.
statement
▪ The inductivist account requires the derivation of universal statements from singular statements by induction.
▪ The reformulated principle is still a universal statement.
▪ The falsity of universal statements can be deduced from suitable singular statements.
suffrage
▪ Monarchy was as widely taken for granted at the end of the nineteenth century as is universal suffrage today.
▪ The propertied class which called itself liberal was immediately opposed to universal suffrage and to the masses in general.
▪ However, the government continued to resist demands for universal suffrage, preferring a power-sharing system.
▪ It was also the year of the first presidential election held under universal suffrage.
▪ Executive power is vested in the President, who is elected by universal suffrage for a five-year term.
▪ The constitutional commission had also agreed that the country's President should be elected by direct universal suffrage.
▪ Legislative authority is vested in a 50-member unicameral parliament, which is similarly elected by universal suffrage for a five-year term.
▪ In the referendum the population of Western Samoa voted narrowly in favour of the introduction of universal suffrage.
truth
▪ What Turing showed is that this is not a universal truth.
▪ Awareness becomes heightened, and everyday domestic dramas unfold into staggering universal truths.
▪ Yet we find it difficult to take these definitive events and state categorically that they are universal truths for women engineers.
▪ A universal truth has to be digested and made part of our thinking and understanding.
▪ He was about to learn a universal truth of professional journalism.
value
▪ For we are all, whatever our social position, essentially judged by the same universal values.
EXAMPLES FROM OTHER ENTRIES
▪ a universal language
▪ a universal truth
▪ It is not easy to write a song that has universal appeal.
▪ Popular culture seems to have universal appeal.
▪ Support for the government is by no means universal.
▪ There does not appear to be universal agreement on the future of the British monarchy.
EXAMPLES FROM CORPUS
▪ How can there be a universal, species-specific human nature when every human being is unique?
▪ Most important for our day is the almost universal support among economists for free trade and opposition to tariffs and import quotas.
▪ Now there is to be the universal democracy of the microwave.
▪ Of necessity this will be specific to a company in terms of its markets and capabilities and a comprehensive universal list is not practical.
▪ Pizza also serves as a universal and very elastic unit of measure.
▪ The President is elected for a five-year term by universal adult suffrage.
▪ Will the West cling to the idea of universal worth while selfishly consuming Arab oil wealth and closing its borders to Arabs?
The Collaborative International Dictionary
Universal

Universal \U`ni*ver"sal\, a. [L. universalis: cf. F. universel, OF. also universal. See Universe.]

  1. Of or pertaining to the universe; extending to, including, or affecting, the whole number, quantity, or space; unlimited; general; all-reaching; all-pervading; as, universal ruin; universal good; universal benevolence or benefice. ``Anointed universal King.''
    --Milton.

    The universal cause Acts not by partial, but by general laws.
    --Pope.

    This universal frame began.
    --Dryden.

    Note: Universal and its derivatives are used in common discourse for general and its derivatives. See General.

  2. Constituting or considered as a whole; total; entire; whole; as, the universal world.
    --Shak.

    At which the universal host up dent A shout that tore Hell's concave.
    --Milton.

  3. (Mech.) Adapted or adaptable to all or to various uses, shapes, sizes, etc.; as, a universal milling machine.

  4. (Logic) Forming the whole of a genus; relatively unlimited in extension; affirmed or denied of the whole of a subject; as, a universal proposition; -- opposed to particular; e. g. (universal affirmative) All men are animals; (universal negative) No men are omniscient.

    Universal chuck (Mach.), a chuck, as for a lathe, having jaws which can be moved simultaneously so as to grasp objects of various sizes.

    Universal church, the whole church of God in the world; the catholic church. See the Note under Catholic, a., 1.

    Universal coupling. (Mach.) Same as Universal joint, below.

    Universal dial, a dial by which the hour may be found in any part of the world, or under any elevation of the pole.

    Universal instrument (Astron.), a species of altitude and azimuth instrument, the peculiarity of which is, that the object end of the telescope is placed at right angles to the eye end, with a prism of total reflection at the angle, and the eye end constitutes a portion of the horizontal axis of the instrument, having the eyepiece at the pivot and in the center of the altitude circle, so that the eye has convenient access to both at the same time.

    Universal joint (Mach.), a contrivance used for joining two shafts or parts of a machine endwise, so that the one may give rotary motion to the other when forming an angle with it, or may move freely in all directions with respect to the other, as by means of a cross connecting the forked ends of the two shafts (Fig. 1). Since this joint can not act when the angle of the shafts is less than 140[deg], a double joint of the same kind is sometimes used for giving rotary motion at angles less than 140[deg] (Fig. 2).

    Universal umbel (Bot.), a primary or general umbel; the first or largest set of rays in a compound umbel; -- opposed to partial umbel. A universal involucre is not unfrequently placed at the foot of a universal umbel.

    Syn: General; all; whole; total. See General.

Universal

Universal \U`ni*ver"sal\, n.

  1. The whole; the general system of the universe; the universe. [Obs.]

    Plato calleth God the cause and original, the nature and reason, of the universal.
    --Sir W. Raleigh.

  2. (Logic)

    1. A general abstract conception, so called from being universally applicable to, or predicable of, each individual or species contained under it.

    2. A universal proposition. See Universal, a., 4.

Douglas Harper's Etymology Dictionary
universal

late 14c., "pertaining to the whole of something specified; occurring everywhere," from Old French universel "general, universal" (12c.), from Latin universalis "of or belonging to all," from universus "all together, whole, entire" (see universe). In mechanics, a universal joint (1670s) is one which allows free movement in any direction. Universal product code is recorded from 1974.

Wiktionary
universal

a. 1 Of or pertaining to the universe. 2 common to all members of a group or class. 3 Common to all society; world-wide 4 cosmic; unlimited; vast; infinite 5 useful for many purposes, e.g., ''universal wrench''. n. (context philosophy English) A characteristic or property that particular things have in common.

WordNet
universal

adj. of worldwide scope or applicability; "an issue of cosmopolitan import"; "the shrewdest political and ecumenical comment of our time"- Christopher Morley; "universal experience" [syn: cosmopolitan, ecumenical, oecumenical, general, worldwide]

universal

n. coupling that connects two rotating shafts allowing freedom of movement in all directions; "in motor vehicles a universal joint allows the driveshaft to move up and down as the vehicle passes over bumps" [syn: universal joint]

Gazetteer
Universal, IN -- U.S. town in Indiana
Population (2000): 419
Housing Units (2000): 207
Land area (2000): 0.283589 sq. miles (0.734493 sq. km)
Water area (2000): 0.000000 sq. miles (0.000000 sq. km)
Total area (2000): 0.283589 sq. miles (0.734493 sq. km)
FIPS code: 77912
Located within: Indiana (IN), FIPS 18
Location: 39.621636 N, 87.453043 W
ZIP Codes (1990):
Note: some ZIP codes may be omitted esp. for suburbs.
Headwords:
Universal, IN
Universal
Wikipedia
Universal (band)

Universal was an Australian-based boy band, from the 1990s. They released three singles on London Records, with "Rock Me Good" and "Make It With You" both entering the Top 40 of the UK Singles Chart. When the third single failed to make in impact, the band dissolved.

Universal (YFriday album)

Universal was YFriday's fourth album. It was released on 31 March 2006 at Youth for Christ's IXth Hour event in Newcastle.

Universal

Universal may refer to:

Universal (act)

Universal (, ) is a historic term that means an official proclamation or legal act. In several historic periods Universals were issued by the Polish and Ukrainian authorities. The name originates from Latin litterae universales, meaning universal publication directed to all. The term was recently revived in modern Ukraine where the Universal of National Unity, a political multiparty agreement signed on August 3, 2006, ended a parliamentary crisis.

Universal (metaphysics)

In metaphysics, a universal is what particular things have in common, namely characteristics or qualities. In other words, universals are repeatable or recurrent entities that can be instantiated or exemplified by many particular things. For example, suppose there are two chairs in a room, each of which is green. These two chairs both share the quality of "chairness," as well as greenness or the quality of being green; In other words, they share a "universal". There are three major kinds of qualities or characteristics: types or kinds (e.g. mammal), properties (e.g. short, strong), and relations (e.g. father of, next to). These are all different types of universal.

Paradigmatically, universals are abstract (e.g. humanity), whereas particulars are concrete (e.g. the personhood of Socrates). However, universals are not necessarily abstract and particulars are not necessarily concrete. For example, one might hold that numbers are particular yet abstract objects. Likewise, some philosophers, such as D.M. Armstrong, consider universals to be concrete.

Most do not consider classes to be universals, although some prominent philosophers do, such as John Bigelow.

Universal (Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark album)

Universal is the tenth album by Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark, released in 1996. It features songwriting contributions from the band's co-founder Paul Humphreys, who departed in 1989, and Karl Bartos (formerly of Kraftwerk). The album spawned the group's first Top 20 hit in the UK for over five years with the track " Walking on the Milky Way". However, follow-up single " Universal" and the album itself performed poorly and this lack of success prompted singer Andy McCluskey to dissolve the band. It would remain their final album for over a decade until the group's reunion.

Universal (Troll album)

Universal is the fourth studio album from Norwegian black metal band Troll.

Universal (Esperantido)

Universal is an Esperantido, a constructed language based on Esperanto. It has inclusive and exclusive pronouns, uses partial reduplication for the plural (tablo "table", tatablo "tables"), and inversion for antonyms (mega "big", gema "little"; donu "give", nodu "receive"; tela "far", leta "near"). Inversion can be seen in,

Al gefinu o fargu kaj la egnifu o grafu. He finished reading [lit. 'to read'] and she started to write.

The antonyms are the pronouns al "he" and la "she", the ge- (completive) and eg- (inchoative) aspects, the verbs fin- "to finish" and nif- "to begin", and the verbs graf- "to write" and farg- "to read".

The Universal reduplicated plural and inverted antonyms are reminiscent of the musical language Solresol.

Universal (OMD song)

"Universal" is a song the British band Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark (OMD) released as the second and last single from their album Universal.

The single peaked at #50 in the UK Singles Chart. This version is slightly different from the original, adding the female singers to the beginning and editing out the lengthy introduction. It was edited by Pete Lewis.

The poor performance of the single and its parent album prompted singer Andy McCluskey to disband the group. It would remain their final single for over a decade until the band's reunion.

Universal (U.K. Subs album)

Universal is a studio album by the U.K. Subs released in 2002 on Captain Oi! Records.

Universal (Borknagar album)

Universal is the eighth full-length album by the Norwegian metal band Borknagar. It marks the return of guitarist Jens F. Ryland. The band's former vocalist ICS Vortex performed vocals on the track My Domain. The album was intended to be released in the fall of 2009, but the release date was postponed as a result of a label decision. It was released on 22 February 2010 in four formats: a regular jewelcase CD, a limited digipack which includes a bonus disc, a CD box with extras, and a gatefold LP with double vinyl.

Usage examples of "universal".

In the Southern States it is a universal accomplishment, and children are taught to ride as well as to walk.

Kathy thought of celebrity as a subtle fluid, a universal element, like the phlogiston of the ancients, something spread evenly at creation through all the universe, but prone now to accrete, under specific conditions, around certain individuals and their careers.

But, as we shall see in Part V, astronomical data of a disturbingly accurate and scientific nature turns up repeatedly in certain myths, as time-worn and as universal in their distribution as those of the great flood.

The Hebrew allegory of the Fall of Man, which is but a special variation of a universal legend, symbolizes one of the grandest and most universal allegories of science.

There is no more striking proof of the universal adoration paid the stars and constellations, than the arrangement of the Hebrew camp in the Desert, and the allegory in regard to the twelve Tribes of Israel, ascribed in the Hebrew legends to Jacob.

Many analogous facts could be given: indeed it is an almost universal rule that the endemic productions of islands are related to those of the nearest continent, or of other near islands.

Why the universe is put together in such a way that it has been called The Symbiotic Universe, and how the apparently amazing universal coincidences leading to the formulation of this Anthropic Principle have actually come into existence.

He had recurring flashes of a universal myth cycle explaining, in grand architectonic fashion, the growing informational subtlety that rose out of energy, through matter, through life, through mind, through worldmind and starmind and universal mind.

Rimini, which aspired to universal freedom, was successfully resisted by the son of Constantine.

Furthermore, Lutherans and Calvinists, in all their varieties, agree with the Romanist in asserting that Christ shall come again, the dead be raised bodily, a universal judgment be held, and that then the condemned shall sink into the everlasting fire of hell, and the accepted rise into the endless bliss of heaven.

In the Annual of the Universal Medical Sciences, 1888, there is a report of seven cases of retinal injury with central scotoma, amblyopia, etc.

On the other hand, those Antinomians for whom his Calvinism is not strong enough, may study the Pilgrimage of Hephzibah, in which nothing will be found which can be construed into an admission of free agency and universal redemption.

The initial antinomy between the narrative of the author, which distorts the independent consciousness of the hero, and confession, which drowns the eternal and the universal in subjectivity, has been overcome.

The name volva is particularly given to that part of the universal veil which remains around the base of the stem, either sheathing it or appressed closely to it, or in torn fragments.

The summary touched lightly on most of the controversial political questions, and contained nothing to which the Democrats would not have readily assented except the declaration for universal suffrage.