Word Origin Atlas

Exact historical dictionary sense

Unique in Webster's 1913 dictionary

The 1913 record labels unique as adjective. Its source-bounded etymology and selected historical definition appear below.

WEBSTER 1913adjective
Unique

[F. unique; cf. It. unico; from L. unicus, from unus one. See One.]

Cross-verified historical sense
The source text may be outdated. The page preserves that historical boundary.
Cross-verified 1913 record
Headwordunique
Part of speechadjective
Historical etymology[F. unique; cf. It. unico; from L. unicus, from unus one. See One.]
Selected historical definitionBeing without a like or equal; unmatched; unequaled; unparalleled; single in kind or excellence; sole.
Signed record IDwebster1913-unique-adjective-c801dfa4413a
Source locatorCIDE.U, paragraph 2073; Gutenberg eBook 669
Edition-scoped answerNot earliest-attestation proofNot modern consensus
Independent historical textProject Gutenberg section 669Signed structural record sourceGNU GCIDE 0.54 archive
Quick answer

In Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913), "unique" is labeled adjective. Its etymology is recorded as: "[F. unique; cf. It. unico; from L. unicus, from unus one. See One.]" The selected historical definition says: "Being without a like or equal; unmatched; unequaled; unparalleled; single in kind or excellence; sole."

Project Gutenberg Webster 1913 plus signed GNU GCIDE 0.54 Exact cross-verified historical record reviewed 2026-10-04

What this answer proves

One named sense in one historical dictionary edition.

The answer reports the selected headword, part of speech, etymology, definition, and source locator as transcribed in the cross-verified 1913 record.

Evidence boundaryIt does not establish the earliest attestation or a complete borrowing chain.It does not claim current scholarly consensus or a modern dictionary definition.Historical dictionary text may be obsolete, incomplete, inaccurate, or offensive by modern standards.

More released U records

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verb

Understand

[OE. understanden, AS. understandan, literally, to stand under; cf. AS. forstandan to understand, G. verstehen. The development of sense is not clear. See Under, and Stand.]

Webster 1913 exact recordnoun

Union

[F., from L. unio oneness, union, a single large pearl, a kind of onion, fr. unus one. See One, and cf. Onion, Unit.]

Webster 1913 exact recordnoun

Unit

[Abbrev. from unity.]

Webster 1913 exact recordadjective

Ultimate

[LL. ultimatus last, extreme, fr. L. ultimare to come to an end, fr. ultimus the farthest, last, superl. from the same source as ulterior. See Ulterior, and cf. Ultimatum.]

Webster 1913 exact record

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