Universal

noun

,junə'vɜrsəl

Adjective

of worldwide scope or applicability
“universal experience”
Similar:Cosmopolitan Ecumenical GeneralOecumenicalWorld-wide
adapted to various purposes, sizes, forms, operations
“universal wrench”
“universal chuck”
“universal screwdriver”
applicable to or common to all members of a group or set
“the play opened to universal acclaim”
“rap enjoys universal appeal among teenage boys”

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”
Type of:CouplingCoupler
a behavioral convention or pattern characteristic of all members of a particular culture or of all human beings
“some form of religion seems to be a human universal”
Type of:NormalConventionRule
(linguistics) a grammatical rule (or other linguistic feature) that is found in all languages
Type of:Rule
(logic) a proposition that asserts something of all members of a class
Type of:Proposition

Peak usage: 1810s

Source: Google Books Ngram Viewer (1800–2019)