unus (Latin)
Where does "unus" come from?
The Latin word 'unus' traces its origins back to the Proto-Indo-European *h₁óynos, a root meaning 'one' or 'single.' It evolved through Proto-Italic and Old Latin before settling into its familiar form, sharing a deep linguistic ancestry with words like the English 'one' and the Ancient Greek 'oîos.' This ancient root highlights a shared legacy of counting across diverse Indo-European languages.
Full etymology tree
- unus (Latin), 'one; 1'
- inherited oinos (Latin), 'one'
- inherited *oinos (Proto-Italic), 'one'
- inherited *h₁óynos (Proto-Indo-European), 'one'
- derived *éy (Proto-Indo-European)
- inherited *h₁óynos (Proto-Indo-European), 'one'
- inherited *oinos (Proto-Italic), 'one'
- inherited oinos (Latin), 'one'
Ancestors
- *oinos (Proto-Italic)
- *h₁óynos (Proto-Indo-European)
Cognates and doublets
- οἶος (Ancient Greek)
- one (English)
- единъ (Old Church Slavonic)
- an (Old English)
- óen (Old Irish)
- एक (Sanskrit)
Updated July 2026
Etymology data from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · About Miraris