ETYM Old Eng. one, on, an, as. än.
(Homonym: won).
1. Being one in number--a single unit or thing.
2. Being the single appropriate individual of a kind; only.
3. Used of a single unit or thing; not two or more.
4. Having the indivisible character of a unit; SYN. unitary.
5. Of the same kind or quality.
6. Indefinite in time or position.
7. Particular but unspecified.
8. Being a single entity made by combining separate components.
9. Used informally as an intensifier.

1. Unquestionably the best; peerless
2. Alone in a class or category; sole; having no brother or sister
3. Few

ETYM Latin singulus, a dim. from the root in simplex simple; cf. Old Eng. and Old Fren. sengle, from Latin singulus. See Simple, Singular.
(Botany; of flowers) Having usually only one row or whorl of petals.
1. Existing alone or consisting of one entity or part or aspect or individual.
2. Having uniform application.
3. Involved two individuals.
4. Not divided among or brought to bear on more than one object or objective; SYN. undivided, exclusive.

ETYM Old Eng. singuler, French singulier, from Latin singularius, singularis, from singulus single. Related to Single.
1. Being a single and separate person or thing.
2. Grammatical number category referring to a single item or unit.
3. The single one of its kind; SYN. unique, exceptional.

ETYM Latin solus, or Old Fren. sol, French seul (fr. Latin solus; cf. Latin sollus whole, entire. Related to Desolate, Solemn, Solo, Sullen.
(Homonym: soul).
Solitary; the only one.

ETYM Latin solitarius, from solus alone: cf. French solitaire. Related to Sole, Solitaire.
1. Single; individual; sole.
2. Living or being by one's self; having no companion present; being without associates; single; alone; lonely.
3. Remote from society; retired; lonely.
4. Performed, passed, or endured alone.

ETYM Old Eng. as, French as, from Latin as, assis, unity, copper coin, the unit of coinage. Related to As.
Someone who is very highly skilled; SYN. adept, virtuoso, genius, hotshot, star, whiz, whizz, wizard, wiz.

ETYM From Item.
1. A distinct part that can be specified separately in a group of things that could be enumerated on a list; SYN. point.
2. An individual unit; especially when included in a list or collection.

1. A single person or thing
2. The smallest whole number or a numeral representing this number; SYN. 1, I, ace, single, unity.

ETYM Abbrev. from unity.
(quantity) Standard quantity in relation to which other quantities are measured. There have been many systems of units. Some ancient units, such as the day, the foot, and the pound, are still in use. si units, the latest version of the metric system, are widely used in science.
1. A single undivided natural entity occurring in the composition of something else; SYN. building block.
2. A single undivided whole.
3. An individual or group or structure or other entity regarded as a structural or functional constituent of a whole.
4. An organization regarded as part of a larger social group; SYN. social unit.

Unit of absorbed radiation dose, now replaced in the SI system by the gray (one rad equals 0.01 gray), but still commonly used. It is defined as the dose when one kilogram of matter absorbs 0.01 joule of radiation energy (formerly, as the dose when one gram absorbs 100 ergs).
A unit of absorbed ionizing radiation equal to 100 ergs per gram of irradiated material.

A data-storage device consisting of a drive and one or more hard disks.

ETYM Old Eng. candel, candel, AS, candel, from Latin candela a (white) light made of wax or tallow, from candëre to be white. Related to Candid, Chandler, Cannel, Kindle.
1. Stick of wax with a wick in the middle; SYN. taper, wax light.
2. The basic unit of luminous intensity adopted under the System International d'Unites; equal to 1/60 of the luminous intensity per square centimeter of a blackbody radiating at the temperature of 2,046 degrees Kelvin.
Vertical cylinder of wax (such as tallow or paraffin wax) with a central wick of string. A flame applied to the end of the wick melts the wax, thereby producing a luminous flame. The wick is treated with a substance such as alum so that it carbonizes but does not rapidly burn out.
Candles and oil lamps were an early form of artificial lighting. Accurately made candles—which burned at a steady rate— were calibrated along their lengths and used as a type of clock. The candle was also the name of a unit of luminous intensity, replaced 1940 by the candela (cd), equal to 1/60 of the luminance of 1 sq cm of a black body radiator at a temperature of 2,042K (the temperature of solidification of platinum).

See data element.

unit of liquid flow equal to one cubic foot per second

ETYM Latin scrupulus a small sharp or pointed stone, the twenty-fourth part of an ounce, a scruple, uneasiness, doubt, dim. of scrupus a rough or sharp stone: cf. French scrupule.
1. A unit of apothecary weight equal to 20 grains.
2. An ethical or moral principle that inhibits action.
3. Uneasiness about the fitness of an action; SYN. qualm, misgiving.
Unit of weight used by apothecaries equal to 1/24 of an ounce.
In theology, the fear of sin when none has been committed. Generally, scruples are thoughts characterized by uncertainty or hesitation in relation to right and wrong moral conduct. Scruples may be condemned as indecision; the classic case is that of Hamlet.

(FPU) In computing, a specially designed chip that performs floating-point calculations. Computers equipped with an FPU perform certain types of applications much faster than computers that lack one. In particular, graphics applications are faster with an FPU.
Some microprocessors, such as the Intel 80486, have a built-in FPU. With other microprocessors, an FPU can usually be added by inserting the FPU chip on the motherboard.

Acronym for floating-point unit. A circuit that performs floating-point calculations. See also circuit, floating-point operation. Floating Point Unit.