Origin and history of union

union(n.)

early 15c., unioun, "action of joining one thing to another or two or more things into one," also "agreement, accord," also "state of matrimony," from Anglo-French unioun, Old French union (12c.), from Late Latin unionem (nominative unio) "oneness, unity, a uniting," also in classical Latin "a single pearl or onion," from unus "one" (from PIE root *oi-no- "one, unique").

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The sense of "action of uniting into one political body" is attested from 1540s. The meaning "group or confederation of people or states" is from 1650s. As short for trade union, it is recorded by 1833. The political sense of "United States of America, the union of states" is attested from 1775; especially during the Civil War in reference to the remainder of the United States after the Southern secession.

also from early 15c.

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Entries linking to union

disunion(n.)

late 15c., "severance of union, disjunction," from dis- + union. Meaning "a breach of amity, contentious disagreement" is from c. 1600. In U.S. history, disunionist (1831) was "one who favors or seeks the disunion of the United States."

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reunion(n.)

c. 1600, "act of coming together again," from re- "back, again" + union; or from French réunion (1540s). Meaning "a meeting of persons of previous connection" is from 1820.

The island of Reunion, formerly known as Bourbon, was renamed during the French Revolution (1793) in commemoration of the 1792 union of revolutionaries from Marseilles with the National Guard in Paris, renamed back to Bourbon after 1815, then back to the Revolutionary name after 1848.

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separation
c. 1400, separacioun, "a severing, detaching, cutting apart, act of removing or disconnecting one thing from another," from Old French separacion (Modern French séparation) and directly from Latin separationem (nominative separatio) noun of action from past-participle stem of sep
marriage
c. 1300, mariage, "action of entering into wedlock;" also "state or condition of being husband and wife, matrimony, wedlock;" also "a union of a man and woman for life by marriage, a particular matrimonial union;" from Old French mariage "marriage; dowry" (12c.), from Vulgar Lati
matrimony
c. 1300, matrimoine, "the married state, the relation of husband and wife, wedlock; the sacrament of marriage," from Old French matremoine "matrimony, marriage" and directly from Latin mātrimōnium "wedlock, marriage" (in plural "wives"), from mātrem (nominative māter) "mother" (s
annexation
1610s, "that which is added;" 1620s, "union" (now obsolete); 1630s, "action of adding to the end or adding a smaller to a...The Middle English noun form was annexion "union; joining; territory acquired" (mid-15c.)....
reconstruction
process (lasting until about 1870) by which the states which had seceded were restored to the rights and privileges of the Union...It had been used in the U.S. during the American Civil War in reference to the anticipated reconstitution of the Union....
ensemble
1703, "union of parts, parts of a thing taken together," from French ensemblée "all the parts of a thing considered together...Musical sense of "union of all parts in a performance" in English first attested 1844....
communion
late 14c., communioun, "participation in something; that which is common to all; union in religious worship, doctrine, or...Used by Augustine, in belief that the word was derived from com- "with, together" + unus "oneness, union."...
merger
1728 in legal sense, "extinguishment by absorption," originally of real estate titles, from merge (v.), on analogy of French infinitives used as nouns (see waiver). From 1889 in the business sense "extinguishment of a security for a debt by the creditor's acceptance of a higher s
bigamy
"state of having two wives or husbands at the same time," mid-13c., from Old French bigamie (13c.), from Medieval Latin bigamia "bigamy," from Late Latin bigamus "twice married," a hybrid from bi- "double" (see bi-) + Greek gamos "marrying" (see gamete). The Greek word was digami
jointure
late 14c., "act or fact of being joined," from Old French jointure "a putting together," from Latin iunctura "a joining, juncture," from iunctus, past participle of iungere "to join together," from nasalized form of PIE root *yeug- "to join." Specific legal sense is from mid-15c.
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Dictionary entries near union