Main Entry: uni·ty

Pronunciation: \ˈyü-nə-tē\

Function: noun

Inflected Form(s): plural uni·ties

Etymology: Middle English unite, from Anglo-French unité, from Latin unitat-, unitas, from unus one — more at one

Date: 14th century

1 a : the quality or state of not being multiple : oneness b (1) : a definite amount taken as one or for which 1 is made to stand in calculation <in a table of natural sines the radius of the circle is regarded as unity> (2) : identity element
2 a : a condition of harmony : accord b : continuity without deviation or change (as in purpose or action)
3 a : the quality or state of being made one : unification b : a combination or ordering of parts in a literary or artistic production that constitutes a whole or promotes an undivided total effect; also : the resulting singleness of effect or symmetry and consistency of style and character
4 : a totality of related parts : an entity that is a complex or systematic whole
5 : any of three principles of dramatic structure derived by French classicists from Aristotle's Poetics and requiring a play to have a single action represented as occurring in one place and within one day
6 capitalized : a 20th century American religious movement that emphasizes spiritual sources of health and prosperity