Etymograph

English

unicum

Unicum comes from Latin ūnicus ‘unique’, from ūnus ‘one’, and perhaps ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *ís ‘this, he’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ís1‘this, he’uncertain
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₁óynos1‘one’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*oinos1‘one’reconstructed
  4. Old Latinc. 700–75 BCEoinos1
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEūnus1‘one’
  6. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEūnicus2‘unique’
  7. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEūnicum2neuter nominative singular form of ūnicus
  8. Englishtodayunicum2

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Latin unicus
  2. 2 Wiktionary, English unicum

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ísWiktionary, Latin unicus‘this, he’uncertain
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₁óynosWiktionary, Latin unicus‘one’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*oinosWiktionary, Latin unicus‘one’reconstructed
  4. Old Latinc. 700–75 BCEoinosWiktionary, Latin unicus
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEūnusWiktionary, Latin unicus‘one’
  6. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEūnicusWiktionary, English unicum‘unique’
  7. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEūnicumWiktionary, English unicumneuter nominative singular form of ūnicus
  8. EnglishtodayunicumWiktionary, English unicum

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *ís ‘this, he’

id, yonder, yon, 13 more

through Proto-Indo-European *h₁óynos ‘one’

an, one, no, only, any, none, 19 more

through Proto-Italic *oinos ‘one’

null, 17 more

through Old Latin oinos

universally, 13 more

through Latin ūnus ‘one’

union, universal, unite, uno, triune, 14 more

through Latin ūnicus ‘unique’

unique, 2 more

Today it means

noun A unique example or specimen of something

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “unicum”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Latin unicus. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *ís / unicum

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