Universal (Noun)

Meaning ¹

(linguistics) a grammatical rule (or other linguistic feature) that is found in all languages.

Classification

Nouns denoting communicative processes and contents.

Examples

• Every language has a universal that states that subjects come before verbs in basic sentence structures.
• Some linguists argue that recursion is a universal because it appears in all known languages.
• Researchers have identified a universal that all languages have at least two distinct grammatical cases.
• Many scholars believe that the existence of nouns and verbs is a universal feature of human language.
• The idea that all languages have a way to express possession is often cited as a universal of language.

Synonyms

• Linguistic Universal

Hypernyms

• Linguistic Rule

Meaning ²

(logic) a proposition that asserts something of all members of a class.

Classification

Nouns denoting communicative processes and contents.

Synonyms

• Universal Proposition

Antonyms

• Particular

Meaning ³

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".

Classification

Nouns denoting man-made objects.

Synonyms

• Universal Joint

Hypernyms

• Coupling

Meaning ⁴

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".

Classification

Nouns denoting cognitive processes and contents.

Hypernyms

• Pattern
• Rule
• Formula
• Normal