Universal means true or present everywhere. Universal suffrage, a universal truth, universal agreement.
It is a strong claim, which is why universal agreement and universally accepted are worth checking when you meet them. Universal also means designed to fit anything: a universal adapter, a universal joint. In Britain, Universal Credit is the combined benefit payment. Note universally; and that in philosophy a universal is a property that many particular things share, which is one of the oldest arguments in the subject.
1adjectiveuniversalTrue or present everywhere.
“The reaction was universal and about as loud as it could be.”
2adjectivedesignedDesigned to fit or work with anything.
“Pack a universal adapter so you can charge your phone in any country.”
universal is a quality of applying everywhere.
Latin universalis comes from universus, meaning turned into one — unus, one, plus versus, turned. The universe is everything turned into a single whole, and universal is its adjective.
Latin
ūniversālis
Old French
universal
Middle English
universal
English, today
universal
From Middle English universal, from Old French universal (modern French universel), from Latin ūniversālis, equivalent to universe + -al.
Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA