Unit definition

Unit





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3 definitions found

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Unit \U"nit\, n. [Abbrev. from unity.]
     1. A single thing or person.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     2. (Arith.) The least whole number; one.
        [1913 Webster]


  
              Units are the integral parts of any large number.
                                                    --I. Watts.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     3. A gold coin of the reign of James I., of the value of
        twenty shillings. --Camden.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     4. Any determinate amount or quantity (as of length, time,
        heat, value) adopted as a standard of measurement for
        other amounts or quantities of the same kind.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     5. (Math.) A single thing, as a magnitude or number, regarded
        as an undivided whole.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     {Abstract unit}, the unit of numeration; one taken in the
        abstract; the number represented by 1. The term is used in
        distinction from concrete, or determinate, unit, that is,
        a unit in which the kind of thing is expressed; a unit of
        measure or value; as 1 foot, 1 dollar, 1 pound, and the
        like.
  
     {Complex unit} (Theory of Numbers), an imaginary number of
        the form a + broot{-1}, when a^{2} + b^{2} = 1.
  
     {Duodecimal unit}, a unit in the scale of numbers increasing
        or decreasing by twelves.
  
     {Fractional unit}, the unit of a fraction; the reciprocal of
        the denominator; thus, 1/4 is the unit of the fraction
        3/4.
  
     {Integral unit}, the unit of integral numbers, or 1.
  
     {Physical unit}, a value or magnitude conventionally adopted
        as a unit or standard in physical measurements. The
        various physical units are usually based on given units of
        length, mass, and time, and on the density or other
        properties of some substance, for example, water. See
        {Dyne}, {Erg}, {Farad}, {Ohm}, {Poundal}, etc.
  
     {Unit deme} (Biol.), a unit of the inferior order or orders
        of individuality.
  
     {Unit jar} (Elec.), a small, insulated Leyden jar, placed
        between the electrical machine and a larger jar or
        battery, so as to announce, by its repeated discharges,
        the amount of electricity passed into the larger jar.
  
     {Unit of heat} (Physics), a determinate quantity of heat
        adopted as a unit of measure; a thermal unit (see under
        {Thermal}). Water is the substance generally employed, the
        unit being one gram or one pound, and the temperature
        interval one degree of the Centigrade or Fahrenheit scale.
        When referred to the gram, it is called the gram degree.
        The British unit of heat, or thermal unit, used by
        engineers in England and in the United States, is the
        quantity of heat necessary to raise one pound of pure
        water at and near its temperature of greatest density
        (39.1[deg] Fahr.) through one degree of the Fahrenheit
        scale. --Rankine.
  
     {Unit of illumination}, the light of a sperm candle burning
        120 grains per hour. Standard gas, burning at the rate of
        five cubic feet per hour, must have an illuminating power
        equal to that of fourteen such candles.
  
     {Unit of measure} (as of length, surface, volume, dry
        measure, liquid measure, money, weight, time, and the
        like), in general, a determinate quantity or magnitude of
        the kind designated, taken as a standard of comparison for
        others of the same kind, in assigning to them numerical
        values, as 1 foot, 1 yard, 1 mile, 1 square foot, 1 square
        yard, 1 cubic foot, 1 peck, 1 bushel, 1 gallon, 1 cent, 1
        ounce, 1 pound, 1 hour, and the like; more specifically,
        the fundamental unit adopted in any system of weights,
        measures, or money, by which its several denominations are
        regulated, and which is itself defined by comparison with
        some known magnitude, either natural or empirical, as, in
        the United States, the dollar for money, the pound
        avoirdupois for weight, the yard for length, the gallon of
        8.3389 pounds avoirdupois of water at 39.8[deg] Fahr.
        (about 231 cubic inches) for liquid measure, etc.; in
        Great Britain, the pound sterling, the pound troy, the
        yard, or 1/108719 part of the length of a second's
        pendulum at London, the gallon of 277.274 cubic inches,
        etc.; in the metric system, the meter, the liter, the
        gram, etc.
  
     {Unit of power}. (Mach.) See {Horse power}.
  
     {Unit of resistance}. (Elec.) See {Resistance}, n., 4, and
        {Ohm}.
  
     {Unit of work} (Physics), the amount of work done by a unit
        force acting through a unit distance, or the amount
        required to lift a unit weight through a unit distance
        against gravitation. See {Erg}, {Foot Pound},
        {Kilogrammeter}.
  
     {Unit stress} (Mech. Physics), stress per unit of area;
        intensity of stress. It is expressed in ounces, pounds,
        tons, etc., per square inch, square foot, or square yard,
        etc., or in atmospheres, or inches of mercury or water, or
        the like.
        [1913 Webster]

From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:

  unit
       n 1: any division of quantity accepted as a standard of
            measurement or exchange; "the dollar is the United
            States unit of currency"; "a unit of wheat is a bushel";
            "change per unit volume" [syn: {unit of measurement}]
       2: an individual or group or structure or other entity regarded
          as a structural or functional constituent of a whole; "the
          reduced the number of units and installations"; "the word
          is a basic linguistic unit"
       3: an organization regarded as part of a larger social group;
          "the coach said the offensive unit did a good job"; "after
          the battle the soldier had trouble rejoining his unit"
          [syn: {social unit}]
       4: a single undivided whole; "an idea is not a unit that can be
          moved from one brain to another"
       5: a single undivided natural thing occurring in the
          composition of something else; "units of nucleic acids"
          [syn: {building block}]
       6: an assemblage of parts that is regarded as a single entity;
          "how big is that part compared to the whole?"; "the team
          is a unit" [syn: {whole}, {whole thing}]

From Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0 [moby-thes]:

  170 Moby Thesaurus words for "unit":
     I, KP, abampere, abcoulomb, abfarad, abhenry, abohm, abvolt, ace,
     ampere, ampere-foot, ampere-hour, ampere-minute, an existence,
     army, army group, article, atom, atomic mass, atomic number,
     atomic weight, battalion, battery, battle group, being, body,
     brigade, cadre, carat, centigram, cohort, column, combat command,
     combat team, company, component, constituent, corps, coulomb,
     creature, critter, decagram, decigram, detachment, detail,
     division, dram, dram avoirdupois, dyne, element, entelechy, entity,
     farad, field army, field train, fighting force, file, firepower,
     flying column, force, forces, garrison, grain, gram, half-life,
     hands, henry, hundredweight, individual, integer, item, kilo,
     kilogram, kilovolt-ampere, kilowatt, kilowatt-hour, kitchen police,
     legion, life, maniple, mass, megacoulomb, megaton, megavolt,
     megawatt, megohm, men, mho, microhenry, micromho, micromicrofarad,
     microvolt, microwatt, milliampere, milligram, millihenry,
     millivolt, module, mole, monad, no other, none else, nothing else,
     nought beside, object, ohm, ohm-mile, one, one and only, organism,
     organization, ounce, ounce avoirdupois, ounce troy, outfit, part,
     pennyweight, person, persona, personality, personnel, phalanx,
     picofarad, piece, platoon, point, portion, posse, pound,
     pound avoirdupois, pound troy, poundal, quantum, rank, regiment,
     roentgen, scruple, section, segment, single, singleton, slug,
     something, soul, squad, squadron, statampere, statcoulomb,
     statfarad, statvolt, stone, tactical unit, task force,
     the big battalions, thing, ton, train, troop, troops, units,
     units of weight, valence, volt, volt-coulomb, volt-second, watt,
     watt-hour, weight, wing, work force
  
  

















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