unit English · revision 2671

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=back-formation|attested=1570, John Dee}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ˈjuː.nɪt/^(Roach et al. 2011)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is an alteration of [[unity]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) or a back-formation from it,^(MWU 2024) on the pattern of [[digit]];^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(Hoad 1986)^(NODE 1998) Hoad and the SOED form it from Latin [[m|la|ūnus|t=one]].^(Hoad 1986)^(SOED 2002) It was popularized by John Dee's English translation of Euclid (1570), to render Greek monás;^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) Dee wrote that unity had formerly been used in this sense.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ A single number regarded as an undivided whole, the base of all numbers: 1570, in John Dee's preface to Euclid,^(Barnhart 1988)^(OED 1989) or the 1560s.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The word was formerly also spelled unite.^(Barnhart 1988) A single person or thing regarded as a member of a group is from the 1640s, first recorded in 1642.^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(OED 1989) A quantity adopted as a standard of measurement is from 1738.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) In the late 19th century the word took on new technical senses: a unit of account (1882), a kilowatt-hour of electricity (1891), a course credit in education (1894), and a group of wards in a hospital (1893).^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline) The adjective, “being or measuring one unit”, is from 1839.^(MW Collegiate)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1570 – a single number, the base of all numbers.^(Barnhart 1988)^(OED 1989)

+ * 1642 – a single member of a group.^(Barnhart 1988)^(OED 1989)

+ * 1738 – a standard of measurement.^(Barnhart 1988)^(OED 1989)

+ * 1839 – adjective.^(MW Collegiate)

+ * 1891 – a kilowatt-hour.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1893 – a hospital unit.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A single thing, person or group regarded as a distinct part of a whole.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # A fixed [[quantity]] adopted as a standard of [[measurement]].^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # A group with a particular function within a larger organization, as in the armed forces or a [[hospital]].^(AHD)^(Etymonline)

+ # A piece of equipment or a module with a specific function: ''a kitchen unit''.^(AHD)^(NODE 1998)

+ # ''(mathematics)'' The number one; the least whole number.^(MW Collegiate)^(OED 1989)

+ # A section of a course of study.^(OED 1989)^(NODE 1998)

+

+ ===Adjective===

+ # Being or relating to one unit.^(MW Collegiate)

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[unity]]

+ * [[one]]

+ * [[union]]

+ * [[unique]]

+ * [[universe]]

+ * [[digit]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}