*Unitarianism,* originally a sect of Christianity believing in a single or *unitary* God, grew up in 18th-century England and developed in America in the early 19th century. Though they believe in Christ's teaching, they reject the idea of the three-part Trinity—God as father, son, and holy spirit—and thus deny that Christ was divine, so some people don't consider them truly Christian. In this century the Unitarians joined with the *Universalist* Church, a movement founded on a belief in *universal* salvation—that is, the saving of every soul from damnation after death. Both have always been liberal and fairly small; today they count about half a million members. Without a capital letter, *unitarian* refers simply to belief in a *unitary* God, or in *unity* within some nonreligious system. Greek *monos*, meaning “along” or “single.” So a *monorail* is a railroad that has only one rail; a *monocle* is an old-fashioned eyeglass that a gentleman used to squeeze into his eye socket; a *monotonous* voice seems to have only one tone; and a *monopoly* puts all ownership of a type of product or service in the hands of a single company.

Being married to one person or having one mate at a time.

American marriage is by law monogamous; people are permitted to have only one spouse (husband or wife) at a time. There are cultures with laws that permit marriage to more than one person at a time, or *polygamy.* Some Islamic countries permit polygamy, as do some African tribes. In this country the Mormons were *polygamous* until 1890, when they were forced to adopt *monogamy* by the unsympathetic federal government.

(1) The cultivation of a single crop to the exclusion of other uses of land. (2) A culture dominated by a single element.

The Irish Potato Famine of 1845-49, which led to the deaths of over a million people, resulted from the monoculture of potatoes, which were destroyed by a terrible blight, leaving farmers nothing else to eat. Almost every traditional farming society has practiced crop rotation, the planting of different crops on a given piece of land from year to year, so as to keep the soil from losing its quality. But in the modern world, monoculture has become the rule on the largest commercial farms, where the same crop can be planted year after year by means of the intensive use of fertilizers. Modern monoculture has produced huge crops; on a large scale, it permits great efficiency in planting, pest control, and harvesting. But many experts believe this all comes at a huge cost to the environment.

(1) Appearing to be a huge, featureless, often rigid whole. (2) Made up of material with no joints or seams.

The *-lith*in *monolith* comes from the Greek *lithos*, “stone,” so *monolith* in its original sense means a huge stone like those at Stonehenge. What's so impressive about monoliths is that they have no separate parts or pieces. To the lone individual, any huge institution or government bureaucracy can seem monolithic. But the truth may be different: The former U.S.S.R. once seemed monolithic and indestructible to the West, but in the 1990s it crumbled into a number of independent republics.

The worship of a single god.

The monotheism of the ancient Hebrews had to combat the *polytheism* (worship of many gods) of the surrounding peoples from the earliest times. As the Bible relates, several times in their history the Hebrews turned away from their *monotheistic* beliefs and accepted foreign gods, such as those imported by King Solomon. Each time their own God would punish them for their disloyalty, and the people of Israel would return to monotheism. Today Judaism shares its monotheism with two much larger religions, Christianity and Islam. ## UNI **UNI** comes from the Latin word for “one.” A *uniform* is a single design worn by everyone. A *united* group has one single opinion, or forms a single *unit.* A *unitard* is a one-piece combination leotard and tights, very good for skating, skiing, dancing—or riding a one-wheeled *unicycle.*

Having only one lawmaking chamber.

*Unicameral* means “one-chambered,” and the term almost always describes a governing body. Our federal legislature, like those of most democracies, is *bicameral,* with two legislative (lawmaking) bodies—the Senate and the House of Representatives. And except for Nebraska, all the state legislatures are also bicameral. So why did the nation decide on a bicameral system? Partly in order to keep some power out of the hands of ordinary voters, who the Founding Fathers didn't completely trust. For that reason, the original Constitution states that senators are to be elected by the state legislatures; not until 1914, after passage of a Constitutional amendment, did we first cast direct votes for our senators.

(1) Done by one person or party; one-sided. (2) Affecting one side of the body.

The world is a smaller place than it used to be, and we get uncomfortable when a single nation adopts a policy of *unilateralism*—that is, acting independently with little regard for what the rest of the world thinks. A unilateral invasion of another country, for instance, usually looks like a grab for power and resources. But occasionally the world welcomes a unilateral action, as when the U.S. announced unilateral nuclear-arms reductions in the early 1990s. Previously, such reductions had only happened as part of *bilateral* (“two-sided”) agreements with the old Soviet Union. *Multilateral* agreements, on issues such as climate change, often involve most of the world's nations.

(1) Perfect agreement. (2) Sameness of musical pitch.

This word usually appears in the phrase “in unison,” which means “together, at the same time” or “at the same musical pitch.” So an excited crowd responding to a speaker may shout in unison, and a group of demonstrators may chant in unison. The old church music called Gregorian chant