late 14c., "pertaining to the whole of something specified; occurring everywhere," from Old French universel "general, universal" (12c.), from Latin universalis "of or belonging to all," from universus "all together, whole, entire" (see universe). In mechanics, a universal joint (1670s) is one which allows free movement in any direction. Universal product code is recorded from 1974.
权威例句
1. He was probably right to intuit that it was universal.
他凭直觉认为它具有普遍性,也许他是正确的。
2. The insurance industry has produced its own proposals for universal health care.
保险业提出了自己的全民医疗保健方案。
3. By 1920, Fox and Universal were already names to conjure with.
到1920年,福克斯和环球已经声名显赫。
4. We communicated in a medley of foreign words and universal gestures.
我们边说着外语,边打着通用的手势进行交流。
5. The universal bogey is AIDS.
艾滋病是所有人唯恐避之不及的东西。
词语辨析
【usual, common, universal, general, average】
这组词都有“普通”的意思,其区别是:
usual: a.通常的,惯常的,强调"习惯性的,符合规章制度的",是个一般用语。
common: a.常见的,普通的,不足为奇的,有时引申为"平凡的",强调事物的共同性。另外,它还有"公共的,共同的"之意。
• Car accidents are a common occurrence. 交通事故是很普通的事件。
universal: a.普遍的,比general语气更强,有"全然没有例外"的意思。
• Poverty is a universal problem all over the world. 贫困是世界各地普遍存在的问题。
general: a.普通的,一般的,表示涉及到各方面,强调整体性而非个别和例外,该词的反义词为particular。
• In general, the economy is doing well now. 总的来说,现在的经济形式还不错。
average: a.普通的,一般的,它强调的是一般水准或普通水准;通常在有数字出现的情况下,表示"平均的"。
• The average runner can run 2 miles in fifteen minutes. 跑步者15分钟内平均跑两英里。