Unify

How to spell unify

5 letters · 3 syllables

How to pronounce unify

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does unify mean?

1. verbTo bring separate parts or groups together into a single whole.

Unify in a sentence

• The new manager hoped to unify the two rival departments under one budget.

• A shared logo and colour scheme help unify the company's branding.

Where does unify come from?

Language of origin: Latin

This word traces back to the Late Latin unificare, meaning literally 'to make one', formed from unus, the Latin word for 'one', joined to a reduced form of facere, meaning 'to make' or 'to do'. English took it through the Old French unifier in the late fifteenth century, keeping the sense of bringing scattered parts into a single whole. The same unus root sits inside a whole family of familiar words such as union, unit, unique, and universe, all carrying that core idea of oneness. The spelling trap is the ending: although the word means 'make one', it is written -ify rather than -efy, following the much more common pattern seen in clarify, simplify, and justify. Remembering the visible uni at the front, the same one you see in uniform, helps anchor the whole word.

How the word is built

• uni- (one)
• -fy (from Latin facere: to make)