unite

Pronunciation

• IPA: /juːˈnaɪt/^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English uniten,^[2][3][4] borrowed from Late Latin ūnītus, the past participle of ūniō (“to join together, make one”),^[2][3][4] from ūnus (“one”),^[4][3][2] from Proto-Indo-European *oi-no- (“one, unique”).^[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

To join together: probably before 1425, in a translation of Higden's Polychronicon, in Barnhart; the early 15th century in Etymonline,^[4][2] where it also meant to annex one thing to another.^[2]

Semantic evolution

The OED's first quotations for joining in a non-physical union are from 1432–50,^[5] for combining into one body from 1591,^[5] for joining physically from 1597,^[5] and for joining hands in marriage from 1602.^[5] The intransitive sense, to become one, is attested by the 1610s.^[2][6]

Timeline

• probably before 1425 – uniten.^[4]
• 1591 – to combine into one body.^[5]
• 1602 – to join in marriage.^[5]
• 1610s – to become one.^[2]

Modern meaning

Verb

1. To bring or join together into a whole.
2. To join or act together for a common purpose.
3. To have in combination: he united charm with severity.

Word family

• uniter
• unitable
• disunite
• reunite
• united

Related words

• union
• unionize
• unit
• unitize
• unity
• one

Usage notes

A unite was also an English gold coin first issued by James I in 1604,^[5][3] its name coming from an obsolete adjective unite, united.^[3]

References

1. ^ Jones, Daniel (2011), Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary, 18th ed., ed. Peter Roach, Jane Setter and John Esling, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
2. ^ a b c d e f g h Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
3. ^ a b c d e Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
4. ^ a b c d e Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
5. ^ a b c d e f g Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
6. ^ Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press