Etymologically
Log in

unità

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 22 October 2026 at 20:50. This address is a permanent link to this version.
Changes in this edit History

Pronunciation

Forms

unità f (invariable)[1] Old forms are Old Italian unitate and Old Italian unitade.[2][3]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Latin unitas (“oneness, unity”), from unus (“one”) with the suffix -tās.[4][5][6][1][7] The GDLI calls it a learned word, and Körting notes that it is learned in every Romance language: Old Occitan unitat, French unité, Spanish unidad.[8][9][4] It comes from the Latin accusative, with the ending cut short, as Sabatini–Coletti note; the older forms kept it as ⟨-tate⟩ and ⟨-tade⟩.[10][2]

Earliest recorded meaning

DELI's first records are from the 14th century, as unitate in Jacopone, unitade in Dante and unità in the translation of Saint Augustine, for the quality of being one and indivisible.[2] The translation of Augustine says that woman was made from man per commendare l'unitade (“to commend unity”).[8]

Semantic evolution

Giovanni Villani, before 1348, already used the word for agreement and concord.[2] The mathematical senses came in the 16th century: the units digit in Benedetto Varchi (before 1565) and the number one in Cosimo Bartoli (before 1572).[2] Paolo Segneri used it in 1673 for the unity of God in three persons.[2]

The Risorgimento made the political sense central: unità italiana is recorded in 1851.[2] The dramatic unities of time, place and action of classical tragedy are recorded from 1875, and the unit of measure from 1891.[2] In the 20th century the word came to mean a single element of a whole, partly under the influence of English unit, and in military use a body of troops or a single ship or aircraft (1905).[11][2]

Timeline

  • 14th century – Jacopone, Dante and the translation of Augustine have the first records.[2]
  • Before 1348 – Giovanni Villani uses it for “concord”.[2]
  • Before 1565 – Benedetto Varchi uses it for the units digit.[2]
  • 1673 – Paolo Segneri uses it for the unity of God.[2]
  • 1851 – Unità italiana “Italian unity” is recorded.[2]
  • 1891 – Unità di misura “unit of measure” is recorded.[2]
  • 1905 – The military senses appear.[2]
  • 1926 – The sense “single element of a whole” is recorded.[2]

Meanings

Noun

  1. unity, oneness: the condition of being one and indivisible, as opposed to multiplicity.[5][6][10]
  2. The quality of forming a coherent whole of many parts: Al romanzo manca unità di stile.[5][10][3]
  3. Political union: l'unità d'Italia.[5][6][12]
  4. Concord, agreement among people: unità di intenti.[5][12]
  5. (mathematics) The number one; the units place of a number.[5][10][11]
  6. A unit of measure.[5][2]
  7. A single element that is part of a whole: un'unità lessicale.[5][11][10]
  8. (military) A unit of troops; a single ship or aircraft: Due unità della marina sono rientrate in porto.[10][2]

Word family

  • unitario
  • unitarietà
  • unitarismo
  • disunità
  • sottounità

Usage notes

Unità di tempo, di luogo e d'azione, the three unities, were the rule of classical tragedy that the action take place in one day, in one place and without digressions.[12][11]

References

  1. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s Cortelazzo, Manlio; Zolli, Paolo (1999), Dizionario etimologico della lingua italiana, 2nd ed. by Manlio Cortelazzo and Michele A. Cortelazzo, Bologna: Zanichelli
  3. ^ a b Gabrielli, Aldo (2020), Grande dizionario italiano, digital ed., Milano: Hoepli
  4. ^ a b Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h De Mauro, Tullio (ed.) (2003), Grande dizionario italiano dell'uso, CD-ROM version 2.0, Torino: UTET
  6. ^ a b c Devoto, Giacomo; Oli, Gian Carlo; Serianni, Luca; Trifone, Maurizio (2026), Nuovo Devoto–Oli: il vocabolario dell'italiano contemporaneo, digital ed., Milano: Le Monnier
  7. ^ Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  8. ^ a b Battaglia, Salvatore; Bàrberi Squarotti, Giorgio (1961–2002), Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, 21 vols., Torino: UTET; digital ed. Accademia della Crusca
  9. ^ Körting, Gustav (1907), Lateinisch-romanisches Wörterbuch: etymologisches Wörterbuch der romanischen Hauptsprachen, 3rd ed., Paderborn: Schöningh
  10. ^ a b c d e f Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse
  11. ^ a b c d Vocabolario della lingua italiana Treccani (2011), Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana
  12. ^ a b c Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli