The word 众所周知 is formed by combining four characters: 众 (many, crowd), 所 (a particle used in classical Chinese to form a passive or nominalized structure), 周 (all around, universal), and 知 (to know). It originates from the classical Chinese phrase "众所周知", where 众所 means "by everyone" and 周知 means "widely known", thus together conveying the meaning "what is known by all" or "as everyone knows".