Theory of Forms
Plato's interpretation of universals is linked to his "Theory of Forms" in which he uses both the terms ("eidos": "form") and ("idea": "characteristic") to describe his theory. Forms are mind independent abstract objects or paradigms (παραδείγματα: "patterns in nature") of which particular objects and the properties and relations present in them are copies. Form is inherent in the particulars and these are said to "participate in" the form. Classically "idea" has been translated (or transliterated) as "idea," but secondary literature now typically employs the term "form" (or occasionally "kind," usually in discussion of Plato's "Sophist" and "Statesman") to avoid confusion with the English word connoting "thought".