uni

¹

[ yoo-nee ]

noun

, Informal.

1. a uniformed police officer; uniform:

   A uni phoned in the burglary at 2:19 this morning.

2. British and Australian. university:

   Tony and Marc are both off to uni in two weeks.

uni-

²

1. a combining form occurring in loanwords from Latin ( universe ), used, with the meaning “one,” in the formation of compound words ( unicycle ).

uni-

¹

combining_form

1. consisting of, relating to, or having only one

   unisexual

   unilateral

uni

²

/ ˈjuːnɪ /

noun

1. informal.
   short for university

Word History and Origins

Origin of uni¹

First recorded in 1895–1900; by shortening

Origin of uni²

< Latin ūni- combining form of ūnus one; -i-

Word History and Origins

Origin of uni¹

from Latin ūnus one

Example Sentences

Q&A: Is there financial support for uni students in Wales?

From BBC

"My accent has changed so much since starting at uni because i was getting comments if I said a word like 'canny'. They liked to point it out."

From BBC

"At college, I can't go to see the therapist we have on campus to have a chat, I can't go into the library and use all these online resources, I'm not doing all these modules on subjects in the detail we are getting at uni," he says.

From BBC

"In terms of the full uni experience, what I'm seeing is massively beneficial for him," he says.

From BBC

They have since gone their separate ways, with one in his first year at uni and the other working nine-to-five.

From BBC

Words That Use Uni-

What does uni- mean?

Uni- is a combining form used like a prefix, meaning “one.”  Uni- appears in a wide variety of everyday and technical terms alike.

Uni- comes from the Latin ūnus, meaning “one.” The Greek counterpart of uni- is mono-, as in monologue. Learn more at our Words That Use article on the form.

Examples of uni-

One popular word that features uni- is unicorn, “a mythical creature resembling a horse, with a single horn in the center of its forehead.” The word comes from the Latin ūnicornis, which uses the equivalent form uni- in the language.

If uni- means “one,” what does the -corn portion of the word signify? The element -corn refers to “horn,” from the Latin cōrnu. Unicorn literally translates to “(having) one horn.”

What are some words that use the combining form uni-?

• unialgal
• uniaxial
• unibrow
• unicycle
• unicuspid
• unicameral
• unicellular
• unidimensional
• unidirectional
• unifacial
• unifilar
• uniflorous
• unifoliate
• uniglandular
• unilinear
• unilingual
• unilocular
• unimodal
• uniplanar
• unipolar
• unipotent
• unisex
• unispiral
• uniseptate
• univariate

The following words use the equivalent forms of uni- in Latin:

• uniform
• unijugate
• uniparous
• universe
• university

What are some other forms that uni- may be commonly confused with?

• in-
• omni-
• un-

Not every word that begins with the letters uni- is necessarily using the combining form uni- to mean “one.” These words, such as unidentified, are instead using the form un-, “not,” in combination with a second form beginning with the letter i. Learn more about the word unidentified at our entry.

Break it down!

The word cycle, from Greek kýklos, has a variety of meanings, including “wheel.” With this in mind, what does unicycle mean?