Unique

How to spell unique

6 letters · 2 syllables

How to pronounce unique

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does unique mean?

1. adjectiveBeing the only one of its kind, or remarkably distinctive and unlike anything else.

Unique in a sentence

• Each passport carries a unique identification number.

• The small gallery has a unique collection that no other museum can match.

Where does unique come from?

Language of origin: Latin

Unique comes from the Latin unicus, meaning 'one and only' or 'sole', which was built on unus, the Latin word for 'one'. English borrowed it in the early 1600s through the French unique, which carried the same sense of something single of its kind. For a long time it strictly meant 'being the only one of its kind', a meaning that purists still defend, which is why some people object to phrases like 'very unique'. The same unus root underlies a whole family of everyday words such as 'unit', 'union', 'unison' and 'university', all turning on the idea of oneness. The spelling trap is the ending: the sound is plain '-eek', yet it is written with the French-derived '-que', so the silent letters at the close are what trip writers up.

How the word is built

• uni- (one)
• -que (from Latin -cus, adjective ending)