Etymology of the English word university
the English word
universityderived from the Old French word
universitederived from the Medieval Latin word
universitas (universe, sum of all things; whole; university)
derived from the Latin word
universus (whole world; all men, everybody; whole, entire; all together)
derived from the Latin word
versus (line, verse; furrow)
derived from the Latin word
vertere (to turn; turn, turn around; change)
derived from the Proto-Indo-European root
*wer-using the Late Latin prefix
uni-derived from the Latin word
unus (one; alone, a single, sole)
derived from the Proto-Indo-European root
*oi-no-Date
The earliest known usage of university in English dates from the 14th century.
Derivations in English
multiversity,
varsityCognates
Dutch
universiteit, French
université, German
Universität, Italian
università, Latin
universitas, Lithuanian
universitetas, Norwegian
universitet, Polish
uniwersytet, Russian
университет, Spanish
universidad, Swedish
universitet
