unicus

Latin

Etymology

From ūnus (“one”) +‎ -icus (“-ic”). Compare Proto-Germanic *ainagaz and its descendants.

Pronunciation

• (Classical Latin) IPA^(key): /ˈuː.ni.kus/, [ˈuːnɪkʊs̠]
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /ˈu.ni.kus/, [ˈuːnikus]

Adjective

ūnicus (feminine ūnica, neuter ūnicum, adverb ūnicē); first/second-declension adjective

1. only, sole, single
   • 8 CE, Ovid, Fasti 5.251–252:

     ‘quod petis, Oleniīs’ inquam ‘mihi missus ab arvīs
     flōs dabit: est hortīs ūnicus ille meīs.’

     “What you seek,” I say, “a flower sent to me from the Olenian fields will provide: the only one [of its kind] is in my gardens.”
     (A touch of the flower described by Flora (mythology) causes conception.)

2. unique
3. uncommon

Declension

First/second-declension adjective.

Number	Singular				Plural
Case / Gender	Masculine	Feminine	Neuter		Masculine	Feminine	Neuter
Nominative	ūnicus	ūnica	ūnicum		ūnicī	ūnicae	ūnica
Genitive	ūnicī	ūnicae	ūnicī		ūnicōrum	ūnicārum	ūnicōrum
Dative	ūnicō		ūnicō		ūnicīs
Accusative	ūnicum	ūnicam	ūnicum		ūnicōs	ūnicās	ūnica
Ablative	ūnicō	ūnicā	ūnicō		ūnicīs
Vocative	ūnice	ūnica	ūnicum		ūnicī	ūnicae	ūnica

Descendants

• → Catalan: únic
• → French: unique
  • → Danish: unik
  • → Dutch: uniek
  • → English: unique
  • → Norwegian: unik
  • → Romanian: unic
  • → Swedish: unik
• → Italian: unico
• → Portuguese: único
• → Sicilian: ùnicu
• → Spanish: único

References

• “unicus”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• “unicus”, in Charlton T. Lewis (1891) An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
• unicus in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette.