unico Italian · revision 37835

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=before 1306, Iacopone da Todi|origins=la ūnus}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * /ˈu.ni.ko/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''unico''' (feminine unica, masculine plural unici, feminine plural uniche)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is a learned word, [[bor|la|ūnicus|t=one and only; singular, unparalleled]], from [[m|la|ūnus|t=one]] with the adjective suffix [[m|la|-icus]].^(DELI 1999)^(Nocentini 2010)^(GRADIT 2003)^(OLD 2012)^(Wiktionary) Prati notes that it came into Italian through literature rather than speech.^(Prati 1951|1029) The same Latin adjective gave [[fr|unique]] (14th century) and [[es|único]], and it was also borrowed into Brittonic.^(DEI|3953)^(Nocentini 2010) Devoto traces the Latin numeral to an older stem [[m|la|oinos|alt=oino-]], which has relatives in Germanic and Slavic, and Wiktionary compares [[gem-pro|*ainagaz]], formed in the same way.^(Devoto 1968)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ DELI dates the first sense, “the only one of its kind, without any other like it”, to Iacopone da Todi (before 1306) and Dante (before 1321).^(DELI 1999)^(GRADIT 2003) The GDLI quotes Iacopone's love that is “’l primo, / unico, etterno” (the first, the only, the eternal), and Dante's “quell'unica sposa / de lo Spirito Santo” (that only bride of the Holy Spirit), the Virgin Mary.^(GDLI|21, 540) DEI records it in the 14th-century lives of the Desert Fathers.^(DEI|3953)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The sense “without equal in worth or virtue” appears in Petrarch (1374), who used it only of the Virgin.^(DELI 1999) Following him, the word became fashionable in the 15th century and turned into a compliment among the Petrarchists: Serafino Aquilano addressed a painter as “Unico Bernardin”, and the poet Bernardo Accolti was known as l'Unico Aretino.^(DELI 1999) The noun use, “the only one who does or thinks something”, is recorded in 1891, and “unique object or animal” in 1970.^(DELI 1999)

+

+ The derivatives ''unicamente'' “solely” (before 1535, Berni) and ''unicità'' “uniqueness” (before 1565, Varchi) followed;^(DELI 1999)^(Nocentini 2010) Varchi apologized for coining a new word for a new and unique person.^(DELI 1999)^(Nocentini 2010) Political ''fronte unico'' “united front” goes back to Russian through the French ''front unique'', but a military sense of the phrase is recorded earlier, in 1916.^(DELI 1999) ''Senso unico'' “one-way” is modelled on French ''sens unique''.^(Devoto–Oli 2026) Tommaseo noted that the plural was used in spite of the sense, for the only sons of different parents or for one's ''uniche speranze''.^(Tommaseo–Bellini 1861|4, 1665)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * Before 1306 – Iacopone da Todi uses ''unico'' for “the only one”.^(DELI 1999)^(GRADIT 2003)

+ * Before 1321 – Dante uses it in the ''Purgatorio''.^(DELI 1999)^(GDLI|21, 540)

+ * 1374 – Petrarch uses it for “without equal”.^(DELI 1999)

+ * Before 1535 – Francesco Berni uses ''unicamente''.^(DELI 1999)

+ * Before 1565 – Benedetto Varchi coins ''unicità''.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1891 – The noun use “the only one who…” is recorded.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1916 – ''Fronte unico'' is recorded in its military sense.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1998 – ''Unico'' becomes the name of the Italian tax return form.^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Adjective===

+ # [[m|en|only]], [[m|en|sole]], the single one that exists or that is meant: ''Era l'unico treno della sera.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Wiktionary)

+ # [[m|en|unique]], without equal in value or quality: ''Da qui si gode una vista unica.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Zingarelli 2010)^(Wiktionary)

+ # ''(emphatic)'' Of a person: exceptional, one of a kind: ''Quel maestro era davvero unico.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+

+ ===Noun===

+ # The only one who does, says or thinks something: ''Marco è stato l'unico a rispondere.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Treccani 2011)^(Wiktionary)

+ # The only specimen or the only one left: ''Questo vaso è l'unico che si è salvato.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[unicamente]]

+ * [[unicità]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[uno]]

+ * [[la|unicus]]

+ * [[fr|unique]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ Common phrases are ''figlio unico'' “only child”, ''senso unico'' “one-way (street)”, ''atto unico'' “one-act play”, ''testo unico'' “consolidated law” and ''più unico che raro'' “exceptional, one in a million”.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Zingarelli 2010) In speech ''l'unica'' stands for “the only thing to do”.^(Zingarelli 2010)^(Gabrielli 2020) ''Unico'' is also the name of the Italian tax return form, an acronym of ''unificato compensativo'' (1998).^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Treccani 2011)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}