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) (a) A general abstract conception, so called from being universally applicable to, or predicable of, each individual or species contained under it. (b) A universal proposition. See Universal, a., 4.
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. &fist; 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°, a double joint of the same kind is sometimes used for giving rotary motion at angles less than 140° (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.
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