Etymologically
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unity

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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

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