unity

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ˈjuːnɪti/, /-nə-/ (UK); /ˈjunɪti/, /-nə-/ (US)^[1]

Etymology

It is Middle English unite, borrowed from Anglo-Norman unite, Old French unité (“uniqueness, oneness”),^[2][3][4] from Latin ūnitās (“oneness, sameness, agreement”), from ūnus (“one”) (see one),^[2][3] from PIE Proto-Indo-European *oi-no- (“one”).^[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

The state of being one, at first in theology of the persons of the Trinity: before 1300 in the OED, about 1300 in Etymonline.^[5][2]

Semantic evolution

Agreement of mind, feeling or purpose is from about 1325.^[5] The general sense, the harmonious combination of parts into a whole, is from the late 14th century.^[2] The number one in mathematics is from 1570.^[5][6] A single complete thing is from 1587.^[5] The unities of drama, of action, time and place, derive from Aristotle.^[6][7]

Timeline

• before 1300 – oneness.^[5]
• c. 1325 – agreement.^[5]
• late 14th century – harmony of parts.^[2]
• 1570 – the number one.^[5]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. The state of being united or joined as a whole.
2. Agreement, harmony or solidarity: national unity.
3. (mathematics) The number one.
4. The harmonious arrangement of parts in a work of art.

Word family

• nonunity
• triunity
• root of unity

Related words

• unique
• unison
• unite
• union
• unit
• one
• universe

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
3. ^ a b Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
4. ^ Pearsall, Judy, ed. (1998), The New Oxford Dictionary of English, Oxford: Clarendon Press
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. ^ a b The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
7. ^ Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins