Uniqueness

How to spell uniqueness

10 letters · 3 syllables

How to pronounce uniqueness

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does uniqueness mean?

1. nounThe quality of being the only one of its kind, or of being distinctly unlike anything else.

Uniqueness in a sentence

• The uniqueness of the design helped the small studio stand out from larger rivals.

• Buyers paid a premium for the uniqueness of the handmade furniture.

Where does uniqueness come from?

Language of origin: French

This word builds on 'unique', which English borrowed from the French unique in the early 1600s. The French word descended from the Latin unicus, meaning 'only', 'sole', or 'one of a kind', which was itself formed from unus, the ordinary Latin word for 'one'. That same unus root sits behind a whole family of familiar words such as 'unit', 'union', 'universe', and 'unicorn', all carrying the idea of oneness. The native English suffix '-ness', inherited from Old English, was then attached to turn the adjective into an abstract noun naming the quality of being unique. The spelling trap lives in the middle: the French 'qu' followed by the silent 'e' produces a 'k' sound, so writers must remember the 'que' before tacking on '-ness', giving the slightly surprising cluster '-queness'.

How the word is built

• uni- (one)
• -que (from Latin unicus: only, sole)
• -ness (noun-forming suffix: state or quality of)