Etymologically
Log in

unilateral

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 31 October 2026 at 22:54. This address is a permanent link to this version.
Changes in this edit History

Pronunciation

  • /ˌjuːnɪˈlætərəl/[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from New Latin ūnilaterālis,[2][3][4][5] or formed from English uni- + lateral.[4][6][7][8] The Latin word is built from ūnus (“one”) and latus (“side”).[3][2] Ūnus comes from Proto-Indo-European *oi-no- (“one, unique”),[2] while latus is of uncertain origin.[2] Klein says the English reformer Jeremy Bentham coined it,[3] and Etymonline that he may have been the first to use it in its legal sense.[2] The OED compares French unilatéral, recorded from 1804, and Italian unilaterale.[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

In botany, of a cluster of flowers, having the flowers on one side of the stalk: 1802, in R. Hall's Elements of Botany.[4] The sense "done by one side only" is also recorded in 1802, in a letter of W. Windham.[4] Etymonline and Merriam-Webster also date the word to 1802.[2][8]

Semantic evolution

The word had two lines of meaning from the start, the physical "on one side only" and "done by one party only".[4] In law it was used from 1826 of a contract or obligation that binds only one party.[4] Medicine used it from 1843 for something affecting one side of an organ, and since 1877 one side of the body.[4] The figurative sense "one-sided", dealing with only one side of a subject, is recorded from 1830.[4] Unilateral disarmament, disarming by one state whatever others do, is recorded from 1914 by Etymonline and since 1929 by the OED, later often of nuclear weapons.[2][4] Of parking, restricted to one side of the street, it dates from 1945.[4][2]

Timeline

  • 1802 – in botany, with flowers on one side only; done by one side only.[4][2][8]
  • 1826 – in law, binding one party only.[4]
  • 1830 – one-sided, dealing with one side of a subject.[4]
  • 1843 – affecting one side of an organ.[4]
  • 1914 – unilateral disarmament.[2]
  • 1945 – of parking, on one side of the street only.[4][2]

Meanings

Adjective

  1. Done or decided by only one of two or more people, groups or countries, without the agreement of the others: a unilateral ceasefire.[8][9][4]
  2. (law) Of a contract or obligation, binding only one party.[8][9][4]
  3. Of, on or affecting only one side, especially one side of the body: unilateral hearing loss.[9][4][8]
  4. (botany) Having parts arranged on or turned to one side of an axis.[9][4][7]
  5. Tracing descent through ancestors of one sex only.[9]
  6. Dealing with only one side of a subject; one-sided.[8][4]

Word family

  • unilaterally
  • unilaterality
  • unilateralism

References

  1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  3. ^ a b c Klein, Ernest. A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the English Language. 2 vols. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1966–1967.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
  5. ^ Partridge, Eric (1966), Origins: A Short Etymological Dictionary of Modern English, 4th ed., London: Routledge & Kegan Paul
  6. ^ Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  7. ^ a b Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
  8. ^ a b c d e f g Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  9. ^ a b c d e Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins