"compatible" bootable usb install?

Hi: can I make a bootable USB install disc, using for the OS download from apple, a mac that has an older mac OS, than the mac on which I want to install the OS? I see on apple's own instructions, at Create a bootable installer for macOS - Apple Support , they use the word "compatible." That means, I could download, using a mac with el capitan, to download onto a USB bootable flash drive, Mac OS Sierra or High Sierra? (I am not going newer on that downloadable OS). The macbook pro retina I want to completely clean install (wipe the internal ssd completely, first), is mid-2014. But the macbook I have usable right now to do the download (of whatever "compatible"(?) ) is 2012.

Or, does "compatible" mean "exactly the same" OS version, or older. That is you cannot download to an old mac a newer version (than on the old mac) to use on another mac?

Ques. 2 - let's say your answer is "no," you can't d/l sierra via a mac using el cap, even if sierra is going to be used on a sierra-compatible mac (not the el-cap mac). Can I update on the mid-2014 macbook, if it has had el cap installed, to sierra or hi sierra, via the app store (or otherwise)? Thank you, stay safe.