unione

Forms

unione f (plural unioni)^[1]

Etymology

It is learned: it is borrowed from Late Latin ūniō (“union, unity”), a word of the Christian writers from the 4th century AD.^{[2][3][4][5][6]} Nocentini, Devoto–Oli and Treccani derive the Late Latin noun from Latin ūnus (“one”), Sabatini–Coletti and the GDLI from ūnīre (“to unite”), itself formed from the numeral.^{[3][7][8][9][10][11]} De Vaan traces it to Proto-Italic *oino- and Proto-Indo-European *Hoi-no- (“one”).^[12]

In classical Latin the same noun already meant a large single pearl, and in Columella it also names a kind of onion, the sense that survives in French oignon.^[2][11] DEI notes that French has union from the 13th or 14th century, and the Late Latin word is also Spanish unión and Portuguese união.^[4][13]

Earliest recorded meaning

DELI's first record is Jacopone da Todi, before 1306, with the sense “the act or result of uniting”.^[2][5] DEI gives the 14th-century Italian version of Crescenzi, where grafting is described as a kind of union in which one plant joins another.^[4][14]

Semantic evolution

The figurative sense “harmony, agreement” appears in Villani, before 1348.^[2] In the 16th century Guicciardini and Bembo use the word for an alliance of states for a common purpose.^[2] An association of people, with or without legal personality, is recorded from 1667 in Bartoli, and in 1749 for the union of the kingdoms of England and Scotland.^[2]

Political and institutional names followed: Unione Sovietica, Unione Europea and unione doganale, unione monetaria.^[5][15] Mathematics uses it for the union of sets, and the law for the joining of movable things that belong to different owners.^[5][9][8] The proverb l'unione fa la forza says that people together are stronger than alone.^[15][8]

Timeline

• Before 1306 – Jacopone da Todi uses unione.^[2][5]
• Before 1348 – Villani uses it for “harmony, agreement”.^[2]
• Before 1540 – Guicciardini uses it for a union of states.^[2]
• 1667 – Bartoli uses it for an association of people.^[2]
• 1749 – It names the union of the kingdoms of England and Scotland.^[2]

Meanings

Noun

1. The act of joining or of being joined, and its result: union, junction: l'unione di due tubi.^[5][7][9][1]
2. A bond between people, of affection, kinship or marriage: unione coniugale.^[5][7][15]
3. harmony, concord, solidarity: In quella squadra c'è molta unione.^[5][9][15]
4. An association of people with common aims, also in the names of organisations: unione sindacale, unione sportiva.^[5][9][16]
5. (politics, law) A form of cooperation between states for common interests, and the international body or confederation it creates: Unione Europea, unione doganale.^[5][15][16]
6. (figurative) A connection between different elements; cohesion, continuity: un'unione felice di musica e parole.^[5][7][1]
7. (mathematics) The union of sets: the set of all the elements that belong to at least one of them.^[5][9][16]
8. (law) The joining of movable things belonging to different owners, as a way of acquiring property.^[9][8][16]

Word family

• disunione
• unionista
• unionismo

Related words

• unire
• uno
• unità
• Latin unio

Usage notes

A separate zoological unione (20th century) names a large freshwater mussel of the genus Unio, from scientific Latin, after Latin ūniō “pearl”.^[5][17] Older Italian also used unione for a pearl, as in Landino's translation of Pliny.^[17]

References

1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Cortelazzo, Manlio; Zolli, Paolo (1999), Dizionario etimologico della lingua italiana, 2nd ed. by Manlio Cortelazzo and Michele A. Cortelazzo, Bologna: Zanichelli
3. ^ a b Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
4. ^ a b c Battisti, Carlo; Alessio, Giovanni (1950–1957), Dizionario etimologico italiano, 5 vols., Firenze: Barbèra (reprint 1975)
5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m De Mauro, Tullio (ed.) (2003), Grande dizionario italiano dell'uso, CD-ROM version 2.0, Torino: UTET
6. ^ Devoto, Giacomo (1968), Avviamento alla etimologia italiana: dizionario etimologico, 2nd ed., Firenze: Le Monnier
7. ^ a b c d Devoto, Giacomo; Oli, Gian Carlo; Serianni, Luca; Trifone, Maurizio (2026), Nuovo Devoto–Oli: il vocabolario dell'italiano contemporaneo, digital ed., Milano: Le Monnier
8. ^ a b c d Vocabolario della lingua italiana Treccani (2011), Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana
9. ^ a b c d e f g Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse
10. ^ Battaglia, Salvatore; Bàrberi Squarotti, Giorgio (1961–2002), Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, 21 vols., Torino: UTET; digital ed. Accademia della Crusca, p. 21, 544
11. ^ a b Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
12. ^ de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
13. ^ Körting, Gustav (1907), Lateinisch-romanisches Wörterbuch: etymologisches Wörterbuch der romanischen Hauptsprachen, 3rd ed., Paderborn: Schöningh
14. ^ Tommaseo, Niccolò; Bellini, Bernardo (1861–1879), Dizionario della lingua italiana, 4 vols., Torino: UTET
15. ^ a b c d e Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli
16. ^ a b c d Gabrielli, Aldo (2020), Grande dizionario italiano, digital ed., Milano: Hoepli
17. ^ a b Battaglia, Salvatore; Bàrberi Squarotti, Giorgio (1961–2002), Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, 21 vols., Torino: UTET; digital ed. Accademia della Crusca, p. 21, 545