Unanimous

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We talked about the word "unanimous" in class. The first part of this word comes from the Latin root "unus," which means "one." The second part of the word comes from the Latin "animus," which means "mind." So, the word "unanimous" means "of one mind" or, in other words, "everyone agrees." In English, people sometimes say "we are all of one mind" to mean "we all agree" about something.

I talked about the word "unicycle" (which means "one wheel") and asked about other words that begin with "uni." One student mentioned the word "universal." "Universal" comes from the word "universe" which means "one world." (Note: The second half of "universe" doesn't mean "world" but "universe" means "one world.") "Universal" means "the same everywhere." The idea is that the we live in "one world" and that some things are the same wherever we go in that world. So, for example, people sometimes say that music is a "universal language." The idea is that wherever you go, people will understand music. People also talk about "universal human rights." This refers to the idea that there are some rights that all people have and that should be protected all over the world (that is, everywhere in our "one world").

Another student mentioned the word "unit." This word also comes from the Latin root "unus." To understand the relationship of "unit" to the meaning of "one" let's begin by considering meaning of the word "unite." "Unite" means to come together and become one. Something that is made by uniting, or putting together, several parts is called a "unit."

One more word that came up in class is UNICEF. The word (or name) UNICEF is made up of the first letters of United Nations International Children's Fund. So, "UNI" in UNICEF does not come directly from the Latin root "unus." On the other hand, the first word in UNICEF, that is "United," does indeed come from the Latin root unus. In the "United Nations," many nations become like one.

Finally, I'd like to talk about the word "unique." "Unique" means "the only one of its kind." A unique painting is the only one of its kind. If you do something in a unique way, you are the only one who does it in that way.