único

Forms

único (feminine única, masculine plural únicos, feminine plural únicas)^[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Latin ūnicus (“one and only, sole”), taken into Spanish as a learned word.^[2][3][1] Corominas lists it among the learned derivatives of the Latin family of uno, with its first record in Alonso de Palencia (1490).^[3][2]

The Latin adjective is formed from ūnus (“one”) with the suffix -icus, as in bellicus and pūblicus.^[4][1] De Vaan traces the numeral to Proto-Italic *oino- and Proto-Indo-European *Hoi-no- (“one”);^[5][1] Wiktionary writes the root *h₁óynos (“one, single”).^[5][1] Gómez de Silva reconstructs *oino-ko- (“single”) behind the Latin word.^[6]

Earliest recorded meaning

The DEMel's earliest record, taken from a secondary source, is in Pero López de Ayala's Rimado de Palacio of about 1385.^[7] Corominas does not find it before Alonso de Palencia in 1490, where it already has the Latin sense “one and only, without another of its kind”.^[3][2]

Semantic evolution

The Academy's dictionary of 1817 gave the two senses that are still current: “alone and without another of its kind”, with the Latin equivalents unicus and singularis, and “singular, rare, special or excellent in its line”.^[8] Its 1899 edition added the etymology “Del lat. unicus” and marked the second sense as figurative.^[9] Moliner describes this second use as a hyperbole that praises how extraordinary a person or thing is, for good or for ill.^[10]

In the Americas the word is recorded from 1548, in Santo Domingo, where wool is called única en la blandura “unequalled in softness”; later records from Chile, Bogotá and Lima use it of a sole patron and an only son.^[11] The adjective also stands as a noun for a person (el único, la única).^[10]

Timeline

• c. 1385 – the DEMel's earliest record, in López de Ayala's Rimado de Palacio (from a secondary source).^[7]
• 1490 – Alonso de Palencia uses único;^[8] Corominas's first record.^[3][2]
• 1548 – the first record in the Americas, in Santo Domingo.^[11]
• 1817 – the Academy defines the word as “alone and without another of its kind” and “singular, excellent”.^[8]
• 1899 – the Academy's dictionary gives the Latin etymology unicus.^[9]

Meanings

Adjective

1. only, sole, single: being the one thing, or the several things, of which there are no others of the kind: Era la única carta que guardaba.^[12][10][1]
2. (also as a noun) The only one: Fue el único que no se rio.^[10][1]
3. unique, extraordinary, exceptional; used as praise, and sometimes of bad qualities.^[12][10][1]

Word family

• únicamente
• unicidad

Related words

• uno
• Latin ūnicus

Usage notes

Hijo único “only child” and moneda única “single currency” are among the set phrases that Wiktionary lists.^[1]

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d Corominas, Joan (1973), Breve diccionario etimológico de la lengua castellana, 3rd ed., Madrid: Gredos, p. s.v. uno
3. ^ a b c d Corominas, Joan; Pascual, José A. (1980–1991), Diccionario crítico etimológico castellano e hispánico, 6 vols., Madrid: Gredos, p. 5, 715
4. ^ Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
5. ^ a b de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
6. ^ Gómez de Silva, Guido (1988), Breve diccionario etimológico de la lengua española, México: Fondo de Cultura Económica / El Colegio de México, p. 708
7. ^ a b Diccionario del Español Medieval electrónico (DEMel), data publication 2026 (CC BY-SA), Universität Rostock, p. s.v. único
8. ^ a b c Real Academia Española (1817), Diccionario de la lengua castellana, 5th ed., Madrid: Imprenta Real
9. ^ a b Real Academia Española (1899), Diccionario de la lengua castellana, 13th ed., Madrid: Imprenta de los Sres. Hernando y Compañía
10. ^ a b c d e Moliner, María (2007), Diccionario de uso del español, 3rd ed., Madrid: Gredos, p. s.v. único
11. ^ a b Boyd-Bowman, Peter (2003), Léxico hispanoamericano 1493–1993, ed. Ray Harris-Northall and John J. Nitti, New York: Hispanic Seminary of Medieval Studies, p. s.v. único
12. ^ a b Real Academia Española (2001), Diccionario de la lengua española, 22nd ed., Madrid: Espasa-Calpe, p. s.v. único