▪ I. union, n.1
(ˈjuːnɪən)
Also 5–6 vnyon, 5–7 vnion.
[a. F. union (12–13th c., = Sp. union, Pg. união, It. unione), ad. L. ūniōn-em, ūnio the number one, unity, uniting, etc., f. ūnus one.]
I. 1. The action of joining or uniting one thing to another or others, or two or more things together, so as to form one whole or complete body; the state or condition of being so joined or united; combination, conjunction: a. In non-physical sense or of abstract things.
hypostatic union: see hypostatic a. 1.
| 1432–50 tr. Higden (Rolls) V. 9 He ordeynede that water scholde be mixte with wyne in the chalice, to betoken the union of the churche un to Criste. c 1450 Myrr. Our Ladye 208 Conuenyently are deuoute wedlockes lykened vnto fayre trees, wherof the route ys suche vnyon of tow hartes. Ibid. 229 By whiche knyttynge..the godhed was vnyed vnto the manhed, and the very manhed vnto the godhed... And in this moste acceptable vnyon [etc.]. 1538 Starkey England 41 The vnyon and coniunctyon of the body and soule togyddur. 1560 tr. Fisher's Godly Treat. Prayer F 5 b, The very true and sincere delectation, whiche groweth by a certayne vnion and perfect agreement..of our soules with almightie God. 1627 Sir J. Finch in Parl. Hist. (1807) II. 224/2 This union of hearts, sir, is a greatness beyond that of the kingdom to which you are heir. 1651 Hobbes Leviath. ii. xviii. 92 The strength of an Army [consisteth] in the union of their strength under one Command. 1667 Milton P.L. ix. 966 Adam, from whose deare side I boast me sprung, And gladly of our Union heare thee speak, One Heart, one Soul in both. 1728 Chambers Cycl. s.v. Hypostatical, The Union of the human Nature with the Divine. 1800 Med. Jrnl. IV. 334 By the union and investigation of several data, the truth may at last be discovered. 1841 Miall in Nonconf. I. 1 The union of church and state. 1873 Freeman Comp. Politics ii. 49 The union of Roman and Teutonic elements. |
b. Of persons or countries with reference to joint action or policy.
Cf. 3.
| 1608 W. Wilkes Sec. Memento for Magistrates 59 Compleat union is of better consequence to the furtherance of religion. 1687 A. Lovell tr. Thevenot's Trav. I. 78 The Janizaries swore the same Union with the Spahis. 1711 Duke of Marlborough in 10th Rep. Hist. MSS. Comm. App. I. 144, I haue no other views then what tend to the firmest union with his Lordship. 1817 Shelley Rev. Islam ix. xviii, The cold sneers of calumny were vain, The union of the free with discord's brand to stain. |
c. In physical sense;
spec. in
Surg., the growing together of the parts of a broken bone, lips of a wound, etc., in the process of healing.
| 1631 H. C[rooke] Expl. Instrum. Chirurg. 13 To hold the lips of the wound..together till the vnion be perfected. 1704 J. Harris Lex. Techn. I. s.v., The Union of Atoms, or Particles which touch in a Plain: as in the Chrystallization of Salts, and other like Bodies. 1767 Gooch Treat. Wounds I. 152 The time generally allowed for the union of wounds. 1815 J. Smith Panorama Sci. & Art II. 341 This affinity or union, is always..of a chemical nature, for it is attended with the grand characteristic of chemical union, viz. it destroys the identity of the ingredients. 1842 Loudon Suburban Hort. 287 To fit the scion to the stock in such a manner that the union of their inner barks..may be as close as possible. 1860 Tyndall Glac. i. vii. 54 The moraine..formed by the union of the lateral moraines. |
d. With
a and
pl. An instance or occasion of this. (Rarely in physical sense, see (
b).)
In some instances not clearly separable from 7.
| 1570 Levins Manip. 166 An Vnion, vnio. c 1600 Shakes. Sonn. viii. 6 If the true concord of well tuned sounds, By vnions married, do offend thine eare. a 1653 Binning Serm. Wks. (1735) 8/2 There was an Union made already in his first Moulding. 1679 South Serm. 167 The same [object] luckily hapning upon another [mind] of a Disposition..framed for it, is..greedily clasped into the nearest Unions and Embraces. 1781 Cowper Charity 122 While providence enjoins to ev'ry soul An union with the vast terraqueous whole. 1871 J. Bradbury Trav. Amer. 331 A colony having an union of interest, and of course an union of action. 1871 Jowett Plato III. 363 There is a union of qualities in him such as I have never seen in any other. |
| (b) 1826 S. Cooper First Lines Surg. (ed. 5) 281 In some instances [of compound fracture], only a partial union follows. 1842 Loudon Suburban Hort. 281 Instances frequently occur of the inner bark of the scion being placed out of contact with that of the stock, and a union nevertheless ensues. |
e. Without article, in
prec. senses.
† at union, in union, united.
| c 1483 H. Baradoun in Pol., Rel. & L. Poems 289 Hertis ease & I be not at vnion. 1526 Pilgr. Perf. (W. de W. 1531) 284 b, In that all swetenesse and vnyon of loue and grace is signifyed. 1625 Bacon Ess., Friendship (Arb.) 173 For in Bodies, Vnion strengthneth and cherisheth any Naturall Action;..And euen so is it of Minds. 1651 Hobbes Govt. & Soc. v. §7. 79 This submission of the wills of all those men to the will of one man, or one Counsell, is then made, when each one of them obligeth himself by contract to every one of the rest,..this is called union. 1675 R. Burthogge Causa Dei 39 The Soul in state of Union to the Body. 1738 R. Grey Meth. Hebrew p. v, The Line of Union called Maccaph. 1789 Belsham Ess. II. xli. 526 Persecution, said Mr. Fox, is a bond of union. 1800 tr. Lagrange's Chem. II. 114 Nitric solutions of mercury and silver..are themselves decomposed at the moment of union. 1847 Mrs. A. Kerr tr. Ranke's Hist. Servia 117 The league of independent chiefs..was on the closest terms of union with both these parties. 1849 Lever Con Cregan xi, While a sharp wound in my neck..had just begun that process called ‘union’. a 1881 A. Barratt Phys. Metempiric (1883) p. xxv, The feeling of real invisible union among the spirits of all the universe. |
f. Sexual conjunction; copulation.
rare.
| 1728 Chambers Cycl. s.v. Univocal, Animals..produced by Univocal Generation, that is, by the sole Union or Copulation of a Male and Female of the same Species. 1799 Med. Jrnl. II. 321 A female rabbit..and..a buck..were allowed to caress each other whilst absolute union was prevented. 1960 C. Winick Dict. Anthropol. 554/2 Ritual union, sexual intercourse on special occasions, as part of a ceremonial. |
2. a. The uniting together of the different sections, parties, or individuals of a nation, people, or other body so as to produce general agreement or concord; the condition resulting from this; absence of dissension, discord, or difference in opinion or doctrine; unity.
| c 1460 Brut ii. 508 This Frederike..was long Emperoure, & differred for to be crowned at Rome because of þe Scisme; but after þat vnion was had, he was crowned with Emperial Diademe. c 1460 G. Ashby Dicta Philos. 703 That kyng that maketh his Region To be obedient to his iuste lawe, That reigne peasibly in an vnyon. 1525 Ld. Berners Froiss. II. ccxxxiii. 301 b/1 The vnyon of the churche I desyre, and I haue taken great payne therin. 1539 Cromwell in Merriman Life & Lett. (1902) II. 230 Ye shal..bring a very vnion..bitwene all them there & conduce them to suche a knott as there shalbe perfite vnion amonges them without striffe. 1647 Clarendon Hist. Reb. i. §10 The Union, Peace and Plenty of the Kingdom. 1683 Temple Mem. Wks. 1720 I. 480, I, that never had any thing so much at heart as the Union of my Country. 1828 Scott F.M. Perth xiii, Have I not thanks to pay to God, who has restored union to my family? 1841 Borrow Zincali I. iii. ii. 271 However some of the Gitános may complain that there is no longer union to be found amongst them, there is [etc.]. 1849 Macaulay Hist. Eng. i. I. 160 They were so far from being disposed to purchase union by concession that they objected to concession chiefly because it tended to produce union. |
b. Painting. Agreement or harmony in respect of colour, design, etc.
| 1704 J. Harris Lex. Techn. I, Union (a Term among Painters) is the mutual Agreeableness and Sympathy of the Colours in a Piece of Painting. 1728 Chambers Cycl., Harmony,..in the Ordonnance,..signifies the Union, or Connection between the Figures, with Respect to the Subject of the Piece. 1770 Sir J. Reynolds Disc. iii. (1778) 83 A figure..though deviating from beauty, may still have a certain union of the various parts. |
c. Horsemanship. (See
quots.)
| 1753 Chambers's Cycl. Suppl. s.v. Unite, A horse is said to unite, or walk in union, when, a galloping, the hind quarters follow and keep time with the fore. 1884 E. L. Anderson Mod. Horsem. 110 That state of collection that we have styled the union. That is, the forces of the two extremities must be united as closely as is consistent with the maintenance of the pace. |
3. a. Scots Law. The uniting into one tenantry of lands or tenements not lying contiguous.
charter or clause of union (see
quot. 1765–8).
| 1503 Sc. Acts, Jas. V (1814) II. 246 Anent landis..quhilk..ar anext or vnit in ane halding or barony þat nochtwith⁓standing þe said anexation or vnion [etc.]. 1542 Acc. Ld. High Treas. Scotl. VIII. 117 The forfaltouris and unionis maid in the last parliament. 1578 Reg. Privy Council Scot. II. 693 Erectionis of baroniis, unionis or burghis in barony. 1693 Stair Instit. ii. ii. §44. 221 The whole Lands lying contiguous are naturally Unite, and needs no Union. 1751 McDowall Inst. Laws Scot. ii. iii. I. 567 The union or erection into a barony of lands, lying in different shires. 1765–8 Erskine Inst. Law Scotl. ii. iii. §45 By a charter of union, i.e. by a charter in which the sovereign dispenses with the necessity of taking a separate seisin upon every discontiguous tenement. 1838 W. Bell Dict. Law Scot. 1020 The object of a charter, or clause of union. |
b. Eccl. The uniting or combination of two or more churches or benefices into one. (
Cf. unition a.)
| 1529 Act 21 Hen. VIII, c. 13 §11 If any person..procure..any Licence or Licences, Union, Toleration or Dispensation, to receive and take any mo Benefices with Cure than is above limited. 1537 tr. Latimer's Serm. bef. Convoc. D j b, Some brought forth canonizations, some expectations, some pluralities and unions. 1545 Act 37 Hen. VIII, c. 21 A Unyon or Consolidacion of two Churches in one, or of a Churche and Chappell in one. 1607 J. Cowell Interpr., Vnion,..is a combining or consolidation of two Churches in one, which is done by the consent of the Bishop, the Patron, and the Incumbent. 1665 Act 17 Chas. II, c. 3 ¶3 The said Union shall take effect for every such Church or Chappell. 1713 E. Gibson Eccl. Law 920 By the union, the two churches are become so much one, that a second benefice may be taken. 1796 Pegge Anonym. (1809) 444 Consolidation, or the union of divers places in the person of one man, is a great obstacle to justice and equity. 1860 Act 23–24 Vict. c. 142 §2 An Union of Two or more contiguous Benefices with one another. |
4. The action of uniting, or the state or fact of being united, into one political body;
esp. formation or incorporation into a single state, kingdom, or political entity, usually with one central legislature.
a. In general use.
| 1547 J. Harrison (title), An Exhortacion to the Scottes to conforme themselfes to the..godly Union betweene the two Realmes of Englande & Scotland. 1603 Bacon Briefe Discourse B ij, And..leauing violent Vnions [of countries]: wee will consider onelye naturall Vnions. 1672 Petty Pol. Anat. (1691) 35 Why was there ever a Union between England and Wales? 1729 T. Innes Crit. Ess. (1879) 67 That the Picts continued in possession..till their union in one kingdom with the Scots. 1754 Franklin Plan of Union Wks. 1887 II. 351 The said commissioners..came to an unanimous resolution: That a union of the colonies is absolutely necessary for their preservation. 1848 W. K. Kelly tr. L. Blanc's Hist. Ten Y. I. 268 To the Belgians France could offer, as the price of a fraternal union, the substitution [etc.]. 1855 Motley Dutch Rep. v. i. (1906) III. 95 Early in January, 1577, the celebrated ‘Union of Brussels’ was formed. 1888 Encycl. Brit. XXIII. 741/2 This success of the struggle for union gave the United States a date for the political..existence of the nation. |
b. Eng. Hist. The uniting of the English and Scottish crowns in 1603, or parliaments in 1707; or of the parliaments of Great Britain and Ireland, dating from 1 Jan. 1801. (With
the and capital.)
| (a) 1603 Bacon (title), A Briefe Discovrse, tovching the Happie Vnion of..England, and Scotland. 1604 Proclam. Jas. I, 20 Oct., The blessed Union, or rather reuniting of..England and Scotland, vnder one Imperial crowne. a 1700 Evelyn Diary 25 Feb. 1671, Came to visit me one of the Lords Commissioners of Scotland for the Union. 1707 Hearne Collect. (O.H.S.) II. 10 This day being the beginning of the Union of England with Scotland. 1712 Z. Haig in J. Russell Haigs (1881) xii. 344 Prosperity to Scotland, and No Union! 1827 Hallam Const. Hist. xvii. II. 696 The union closes the story of the Scots constitution. 1864 Burton Scot Abr. I. 121 Scotland did not fully recover from the ruin of that conflict until the Union made her secure. |
| (b) 1798 The Union (ed. 4) 15 As..the Protestants become the majority of our people upon the establishment of the Union. 1829 Scott Wav. Gen. Pref., Miss Edgeworth..may be truly said to have done more towards completing the Union, than [etc.]. 1880 Encycl. Brit. XIII. 271 Carried in great measure by the same corrupt means as the constitution of '82 had been worked by, the Union earned no gratitude. |
5. The joining of one person to another in matrimony; an instance or occasion of this, a marriage.
| 1595 Shakes. John ii. ii. 446 This vnion shall do more than batterie can To our fast-closed gates. 1678 E. Cooke (title), Love's Triumph,—or, The Royal Union: A Tragedy. 1751 Johnson Rambler No. 167 ¶2 The happy event of a union in which caprice and selfishness had so little part. 1778 F. Burney Evelina lxxix, He was himself of opinion, the sooner the union took place, the better. 1826 Miss Mitford in L'Estrange Life (1870) II. xi. 239 The immediate union of the Princess Constance..to Don Pedro. 1841 Thackeray Gt. Hoggarty Diam. viii, Her grandfather had been at the first very much averse to our union. 1879 Farrar St. Paul II. 69 He pronounced against any voluntary dissolution of unions already existing between Pagans and Christians. |
II. † 6. a. The quality of being one in number; oneness; the fact or condition of consisting of, involving, or being restricted to, one person or thing only.
Obs. In
quots. 1548 and
a 1564 with reference to the partaking of the Communion by the priest only.
| a 1513 Fabyan Chron. vii. ccxliv. 286 An other erronyous opynyon concernynge the vnyon of the Trynytie. 1548 Geste Pr. Masse K viii, Thee prieste masse, whyche is rather an vnion then a communion. a 1564 Becon Display. Popish Mass Wks. II. 50 Ye call it a Communion, which is a partaking of many together; but ye might right well call it an vnion. For no man eateth and drinketh of the bread and wyne but you alone. 1564 Harding Answ. Jewel 81 For euery multitude..contineweth one. And that whereof it is one, and is kepte in vnion or onenesse, it is necessary that it be one, elles [etc.]. 1652 Benlowes Theoph. viii. xxvii, Thus Holy, Holy, Holy's nam'd, to show A Ternion we in Union know. |
† b. = monad a. 1 b.
Obs.—1| 1565 B. Googe tr. Palingenius' Zodiac vii. U iij, As from the Union [L. monas] fyrst eche other number springs. |
† c. A unique example.
Obs.—1| 1657 J. Watts Vind. Ch. Eng. 48 But an Union, one such text, I mean, in all the Bible. |
7. a. That which is united or combined into one; a body formed by uniting one thing to another or others, or several things together; a combination or compound.
| 1660 Jer. Taylor Worthy Commun. Introd. 10 My purpose is..to gather together into an union al these several portions of truth. 1696 Stanhope Chr. Pattern (1711) 2 What is a man the better for entring into the sublime mysteries of the Trinity, and being able to dispute nicely upon that adorable Union? 1807 J. E. Smith Phys. Bot. 212 Carbonic acid gas, (which was formerly called fixed air, and is an union of oxygen and carbon). |
b. A number, group, or body of persons or states joined or associated together for some common purpose or action; an association, league, or society; in later use
esp. = trade union.
| (a) 1660 Jer. Taylor Ductor iii. iv. rule x. §11 He is not to be reckoned as a Brother, or a relative in our religious friendship and union. 1736 Butler Anal. i. iii. 83 To separate from their adversaries, and to form an union among themselves. 1762 Falconer Shipwr. ii. 409 [The] sagacious statesman..darts around his penetrating eyes, Where Dangers grow and hostile unions rise. 1832 Gen. P. Thompson Exerc. (1842) II. 236 Once more to the Political Unions,..don't endure it [sc. slavery]; but hold together like burrs. 1903 Science (N.Y.) 5 June 892/2 The International Union of the American Republics, popularly known as the Pan-American Union. |
| (b) 1833 2nd Rep. Factory Com. D 2. 39 Our spinners..said they had no fault to find.., but the union obliged them to turn out. 1848 Mrs. Gaskell Mary Barton viii, Block-printers is going to strike; they'n getten a bang-up Union, as won't let 'em be put upon. 1878 Jevons Prim. Pol. Econ. 65 It is certain that the increase of wages is not confined to those trades which have unions. |
c. spec. A number of states or provinces united together or incorporated into one legislative confederacy; a confederation or federation;
esp. the United States of America.
Sometimes in American use restricted to the Northern States which adhered to the Union in contradistinction to the eleven Southern States whose attempted secession from it led to the Civil War of 1861–5.
| 1775 Jefferson Let. Writ. 1892 I. 491 So as to bring the Canadians into our Union. 1792 J. Belknap Hist. New Hampsh. III. 257 An important branch of the American union. 1817 J. Bradbury Trav. Amer. 277 The separation of the States west of the Alleghanies from the Union. 1865 Lowell Wks. (1890) V. 258 The South will come back to the Union. 1909 in R. H. Brand Union of S. Africa 142 The words ‘the Union’ shall be taken to mean the Union of South Africa as constituted under this Act. |
d. A number of parishes united or incorporated together under one Board of Guardians for the administration of the poor laws; an area or sub-district so formed and administered.
| 1834 Act 4–5 Will. IV, c. 76 §26 Such Parishes shall there⁓upon be deemed a Union for such Purpose. 1837 M{supc}Culloch Acc. Brit. Empire II. 639 The operation of Gilbert's Act in the unions formed under it. 1862 Gladstone Sp. in Times 29 Dec. 9/5 The bulk of the cotton manufacture was carried on in a region comprised within 27 Unions. |
e. A textile fabric composed of two or more different materials woven together,
esp. one containing cotton and linen, or cotton and some other material as wool, silk, or jute. Freq.
pl., kinds or varieties of goods or fabrics so woven, union-cloths.
| 1844 G. Dodd Textile Manuf. v. 167 A mixture of flax and cotton called ‘union’. 1851 Mayhew Lond. Labour I. 378/1 Then we had an Irish linen, an imitation, you know, a kind of ‘Union’, which we call double twist. 1893 Photogr. Ann. 284 Two or three yards of ‘union’, or white window blind material. |
| pl. 1851 Mayhew Lond. Labour I. 376/2 Linen of good quality used to be extensively hawked, but from 1820 to 1825, or later..the hawkers got to deal in an inferior quality, ‘unions’ (a mixture of linen and cotton) glazed and stiffened. 1879 Cassell's Techn. Educ. IV. 387/2 A real Scotch carpet is all wool, but fabrics similar in appearance are made with cotton warps and worsted wefts, in which case they are called ‘unions’. 1890 Textile News 20 Oct. (List Manufacturers), Manufacturer of black and coloured unions. |
f. India,
Pakistan, and
Bangladesh. A local administrative unit comprising several rural villages. Freq.
attrib.| 1885 Bengal Local Self-Govt. Act. ii. §38 in Acts of Lieutenant-Governor of Bengal in Council (1886) 38 The Lieutenant-Governor may, by order in writing, constitute any village or group of villages into a Union; and may prescribe for such Union the number of members of which the Union Committee shall consist. 1959 Pakistan Q. Winter 14/2 Basic Democracy creates institutions at the Union, Tehsil, Divisional and Provincial levels... At the Union level the Panchayat or Council, has roughly ten elected and five nominated (non-official) members. 1964 R. W. Gable in Inayatullah District Admin. W. Pakistan i. 15 Basic Democracies are characterized by a four-tier structure of councils... The councils operate, in ascending order, at the level of unions, or groups of villages; tehsils (in West Pakistan) and thanas (in East Pakistan); districts; and divisions. In urban areas there are Town Committees and Union Committees in place of Union Councils. 1977 Bangladesh Times 19 Jan. 1/8 Elections in 229 unions will be held today (Wednesday) in 18 districts of the country. |
g. Math. The set that comprises all the elements (and no others) contained in any of two or more given sets; also, the operation of forming such a set.
| 1941, 1968 [see intersection 3 b]. 1970 O. Dopping Computers & Data Processing i. 28 The formation of the union is analogous to a logical addition... The union X {union} Y (also written X + Y and spoken as ‘X union Y’) comprises all elements which are elements in set X, set Y, or both. 1972 Computer Jrnl. XV. 195/1 The character set handled by most of the systems programs is practically the union of all the characters available on the various devices. |
8. Brewing. One of a series of casks or vats used in the Union or Burton system of cleansing beer.
| 1876 Encycl. Brit. IV. 275/2 When beer is cleansed..it is necessary to keep the casks or Unions full to the bung. 1897 W. J. Sykes Brewing 448 When a set of unions are cleansed, the swan-necks are first removed. |
III. 9. That which unites or connects one thing to another;
techn., a device for connecting the ends of pipes or tubes, or for attaching a pipe to some other part; a coupling, pipe-coupling.
| 1850 [see union joint in sense 12]. 1863 Appleby's Handbk. Mach. & Iron Work 59 Wrought-iron Wrenches for Hose Unions. 1864 Riddel & Co.'s Catal., Steam and Valve Cocks. Brass Unions. 1889 Daily News 11 Feb. 4/7 Makers of cocks, taps, unions, and bar fittings are fairly busy. |
IV. 10. In elliptical senses.
a. = Union flag or
Union Jack, either as (
a) a separate flag (also
† great union), or (
b) as inserted in the upper inner canton of the ensign;
freq. in
phr. union down or
union downwards, indicating an inverted position, with the union as if in the lower inner canton, when the flag is hoisted or flown on a vessel as a signal of distress or mourning.
| (a) 1769 Falconer Dict. Marine (1780) s.v. Jack, In the British Navy the jack is..a small union flag..; but in merchant-ships this union is bordered with a red field. 1812 Ann. Reg., Gen. Hist. 110 The proud old British Union floated triumphantly over it. 1849 C. Sturt Exped. Centr. Australia I. 20 Some young ladies of the colony..had worked a silken union to present to Mr. Eyre. 1865 N. & Q. 18 Feb. 136/1 His majesty is depicted stepping from a barge with the Union hoisted at the stern. |
| (b) 1804 Naval Chron. XII. 144 The colours..were hoisted Union downwards. 1830 Campbell Dict. Mil. Sci. s.v. Colours, The Red Cross of St. George in a White Field, with the Union in the Upper Canton. 1883 Harper's Mag. Jan. 321/1 The American flag..was by mistake hoisted ‘union down’. |
b. Short for
Union House,
workhouse (sense 12).
| 1843 Neale Ball. & Songs for People 16 We never built the unions Wherein they starve the poor. 1874 T. Hardy Far from Madding Crowd xxx, I wonder sometimes if I am doomed to die in the Union. |
c. (With capital.) The name at various Universities (
orig. at Oxford and Cambridge) of a general club and debating society usually open to all members, or all undergraduates, of the University; also, the buildings or offices of such.
Originally short for
Union Society or
Union Club. Also used
attrib., as
Union audience,
Union rhetoric,
Union speech.
| 1835 Rep. Committee Oxford Union Soc. 2 The Treasurer of the Union. 1853 Thackeray Eng. Hum., Congreve (1858) 58 Before the passing of the Reform Bill, there existed at Cambridge a certain debating club, called the ‘Union’. 1883 Oxford Univ. Mag. 24 Jan. 7/1 No more eloquent speech has been heard in the Union during the last three years. 1891 Cal. St. Andrews Univ. 315 The scheme for instituting a Students' Union in the University of St. Andrews. Ibid. 316 The general management of the Union. |
V. Attrib. and comb., passing into
adj. 11. a. In senses 4 b and 7 c, with the sense ‘of or belonging to, promoting or advocating, adhering to or supporting (a particular) legislative union’, as (
a)
union arms,
union colours,
union-maker,
union parliament;
esp. (
b) in American use (see 7 c note), as
Union Army,
Union banner,
Union league,
Union man,
Union planter, etc.
| (a) 1707 Lond. Gaz. No. 4374/1 On Two opposite Corners were the Union Arms. Ibid., The Norton Galley hoisted the Union Colours. 1771 Smollett Humph. Cl. To Phillips 8 Aug., During a sitting of the union parliament [at Edinburgh, 1707]. 1811 Gen. Reg. & Orders of Army 13 The first Standard, Guidon, or Colour of Regiments, which is the Union Colour. 1846 A. Amos Gt. Oyer of Poison. 4 The union-maker, King James. |
| (b) 1863 Bright Sp. Amer. 26 Mar. 127 Not Union planters only, but Secession planters began to bring in the produce. 1863 Hawthorne Our Old Home (1883) I. 23 The latest is now a gallant general under the Union banner. 1866 ‘F. Kirkland’ Bk. Anecdotes 376 Colonel Bailey..[believed] that their capture or destruction would involve the destruction of the Union army. 1872 Schele de Vere Americanisms 280 The Union-men..or Federals..fought for the Union against rebellion. Ibid. 289 Loyal Leagues, as well as Union Leagues, were formed all over the country. 1931 E. O'Neill Homecoming 1, in Mourning becomes Electra (1932) 27 He wears the uniform of an artillery captain in the Union Army. 1973 A. Dundes Mother Wit 562 The Union Army..was ostensibly fighting in part to end slavery. |
b. In general and miscellaneous use, as
union-band,
union canopy,
union vowel, etc.
| 1723 E. Fenton Mariamne iii. vi, Such as good spirits are suppos'd to sing O'er saints, while death dissolves the union-band. 1785 [R. Graves] Eugenius II. xxxi. 188 A great many variegated roses..called union roses (as they unite the party distinctions of York and Lancaster). 1824 T. Fenby Mulberry Tree iii, The tree, Which love's union-canopy made. 1879 Whitney Sanskrit Gram. 78 All the simple vowels come to assume in certain cases the aspect of union-vowels, or insertions between root or stem and ending of inflection or of derivation. |
c. In sense 7 b, as
union baron,
union-basher,
union-card,
union dues,
union hours,
union house,
union-jobber,
union negotiator,
union pay,
union scale,
union ticket;
union-bashing,
union-busting (also as
pres. pple.),
union-smashing vbl. ns.| 1974 Socialist Worker 26 Oct. 11/5 There is a need for links with the other unions in the entertainment industry and beyond, not just Media Conferences where Labour MPs and *union barons spout and TV directors nod approvingly. |
| 1977 Times 14 Sept. 1/1 Voices in the Conservative Party arguing moderation rather than ‘*union bashing’ in its approach to the closed shop... Sir Keith Joseph had been depicted as an ‘enthusiastic *union basher’. 1980 Illustr. London News Mar. 19/3 It [sc. the Employment Bill] is not revolutionary, it is not union-bashing, but it imposes some legal restraints on secondary strike activity and provides some stimulus to union democracy. |
| 1913 J. London Valley of Moon 198 They're all *union-bustin' to beat the band. 1947 Sun (Baltimore) 26 June 1/7 Union-busting act. |
| 1874 Rep. Proc. Internat. Typographical Union N. Amer. 84 The International Typographical Union shall issue..a card, with appropriate designs, to be called the ‘*Union Card’. 1977 ‘W. Haggard’ Poison People iv. 141 There's..an efficient Trade Union... You'll need a Union card. |
| 1977 Undercurrents June–July 11/4 Being an anarchist I don't take dole nor can I afford *union dues. |
| 1945 *Union hours [see social disease s.v. social a. 12]. |
| 1937 F. M. Ford Let. 27 Mar. (1965) 277 Doing what I can to persuade any publishers.. [to have] their printing done by *union houses. |
| 1841 Penny Cycl. XXI. 411/1 The many dishonest abstractions of their [Pension Societies'] funds, of which the mere *Union jobbers are so often guilty. |
| 1964 Mod. Law Rev. XXVIII. iii. 274 The local *union negotiator (shop steward and the like, who is so vital to the operation of collective bargaining) will..usually be an employee. 1914 D. H. Lawrence Widowing of Mrs. Holroyd iii. 75 Well, if he's badly hurt, there'll be the *Union-pay, and sick-pay—we shall manage. |
| 1976 Honolulu Star-Bull. 21 Dec. d–2/6 The artists will be paid *union scale, and the Kennedy Center is donating the space, he added. |
| 1897 Westm. Gaz. 30 Aug. 1/3 A general policy of *union-smashing. |
| 1891 A. French Otto the Knight 19, I went to two or three cities, but I couldn't get work, having no *union ticket. 1908 Kipling Lett. of Travel (1920) 167 It is difficult to get skilled labour into here?.. Even if he has his Union ticket? 1948 Union ticket [see ante v.]. |
d. In sense 7 e, as
union cloth,
union cord (braid),
union damask,
union diaper,
union goods, etc.; also (of garments), ‘made of union cloth or fabric’.
| 1862 Catal. Internat. Exhib., Brit. II. No. 3995, Woollen and union cloths. 1867 Ure's Dict. Arts (ed. 6) III. 971 Union goods, cloths of a mixed character, as of flax and jute, or cotton and jute. 1868 Chambers' Encycl. X. 268/1 Many of the names used in the all-wool class are retained in this [sc. fabrics composed of wool and cotton], with the addition of the word ‘union’, as union merino, union shalloon, union damask, &c. 1882 Caulfeild & Saward Dict. Needlew. 507 Union cord, a round white cord, made for stay-laces,..composed of both linen and cotton thread. Ibid., Union Cord Braid, Union Diaper. 1896 Godey's Mag. Feb. 218/2 Union undergarments of silk or wool. |
e. In senses 7 d, 10 b, as
union boy,
union man.
| 1846 (title), The Union and Parish Officer's Pocket Almanac and Guide. 1859 J. H. Steggall Hist. Suffolk Man i. 29, I was worse than any union boy with his hair polled. 1871 ‘M. Legrand’ Cambr. Freshm. 303 He's out o' the Union... The Union men break the stones on the roads. |
12. Special combs.:
union bow Archery, a bow made of two or more pieces united together; a backed or back bow (
Cent. Dict. 1891);
union catalogue, a catalogue of the combined holdings of several libraries;
union dye, a dye that will satisfactorily dye the two materials of a union cloth,
esp. cotton and wool, at the same time; so
union dyeing vbl. n.;
union-grass, one or other of the grasses belonging to the genus
Uniola (ibid.);
Union House, the poorhouse or workhouse of a Poor Law union (
cf. senses 7 d and 10 b, and
Union workhouse);
union-joint (see
quots. and sense 9);
union list, a union catalogue,
esp. one giving details of periodical holdings in several libraries;
union nut, (
a) a nut used with a screw to unite one part to another; (
b) the Australian timber-tree
Bosistoa sapindiformis, or its wood;
union pear (see
quot.);
union-pump (see
quot.);
union purchases, a method of cargo-handling (see
quots.);
union-room Brewing, the room containing the unions or cleansing vats;
union-rustic, a British night-moth,
Apamea connexa (
Encycl. Dict. 1888);
union screw (see
quot. and
union joint);
union shop orig. U.S., a shop, factory, trade, etc., in which employees must belong to or join a trade union; a post-entry closed shop (see
post-entry a.);
union suit,
† (
a) ? a set of mirrors; (
b) chiefly
N. Amer., a one-piece under-garment reaching to the ankles;
= combination 9;
union system Brewing (see
quots. and sense 8);
union-wide a., that involves or encompasses the whole of a trade union (movement);
Union workhouse,
= Union House. See also
Union flag,
Jack.
| 1897 Libr. Jrnl. Sept. 437 One of the latest examples of co-operative library work is the *union catalog of medical literature recently completed in Denver. 1982 Papers Dict. Soc. N. Amer. 1979 83 Most union catalogs are made up from individual libraries' catalog cards and are created by dispensing with the subject element in the individual library catalogs. |
| 1909 Owens & Standage Dyeing & Cleaning Textile Fabrics 36 *Union dyes are..of more general adaptation to the renovating of garments than any other class of dyewares. 1963 A. J. Hall Student's Textbk. Textile Sci. iv. 191 Union dyes are a mixture of direct cotton dyes and neutral dyeing acid wool dyes. |
| 1909 Owens & Standage Dyeing & Cleaning Textile Fabrics 38 Full directions are given later for *union dyeing. 1974 N. G. & T. E. Harries Textiles vi. 517 Two variations of piece dyeing are union dyeing and cross dyeing. |
| 1847 Alb. Smith Chr. Tadpole xlvi, ‘Anything new at the *Union House to-day, Mr. Mole?’ 1893 Daily News 10 April 5/4 The Prince's inscription in the Dunmow Union House visitors' book. |
| 1850 Weale Dict. Terms 493 *Union screws or joints,..the brass unions for connecting the elastic bore-pipe of the tender to the feed-pipe of the [locomotive] engine. 1867 J. Hogg Microsc. i. ii. 107 A finer [adjustment] is secured by a well made union-joint. |
| 1885 Libr. Jrnl. X. 370 A *union list of periodicals in these libraries. 1968 Bodl. Libr. Rec. VIII. 63 Union list of serials in the science area, Oxford. 1978 Amer. N. & Q. XVII. 9/1, I am initiating a union list of 19th century photographically illustrated books in library collections throughout the country. |
| 1838 Civil Eng. & Arch. Jrnl. I. 133/1 It..is attached to a ferrule by a *union nut and screw, and can be as easily removed. 1889 J. H. Maiden Useful Pl. 387 Bosistoa sapindiformis, Union Nut. |
| 1731 Miller Gard. Dict. 6 U, The *Union Pear; otherwise call'd Dr. Uvedale's St. Germain. This is a very large long Pear, of a deep green Colour. 1860 J. Hogg Fruit Man. 217. |
| 1875 Knight Dict. Mech. 2681/2 *Union-pump,..one in which the engine and pump are united in the same frame. |
| 1926 B. Cunningham Cargo Handling at Ports (ed. 2) v. 46 The principle of using the double line with a single hook for the combined process of lifting and slewing, called in this country [sc. Great Britain] the *Union Purchase. 1961 B.S.I. News Mar. 13/1 Greater safety for stevedores handling cargo by the union purchase method (the operation of two ships' derricks in tandem). |
| 1886 ‘Bickerdyke’ Cur. Ale & Beer 339 The *union-room..[at Allsopp's] contains 1,424 unions, which can cleanse 230,688 gallons at one time. |
| 1850 Weale Dict. Terms 494 The feed-pipe is likewise attached to the lower end of the pump by a large *union screw. |
| 1904 McClure's Mag. Feb. 370/1 Many stores, restaurants, and saloons display placards in their windows advertising the fact that they are strictly *union shops. 1937 F. M. Ford Let. 27 Mar. (1965) 276, I will..ask the publisher..whether or not the Riverside Press, which prints this book, is or is not a union shop. 1977 Time 7 Mar. 28/2 The section permits states to ban the so-called union shop, which requires new employees to join unions. |
| 1714 Lond. Gaz. No. 5214/3 All sorts of Coach Glasses, Chimney Glasses, Sconces, Dressing Glasses, *Union Suits, Dressing Boxes, swinging Glasses [etc.]. 1892 Ladies' Home Jrnl. Sept. 29/3 Yes, you will say to yourself, I know all about union suits, but do you? 1948 W. Faulkner Intruder in Dust vii. 147 The sagging fences..by nightfall would be gaudy with drying overalls..and unionsuits. 1967 E. S. Turner Taking Cure xii. 187 Smedley..urged the wearing of merino union suits for both adults and children. |
| 1876 Encycl. Brit. IV. 275/2 There are three modes of cleansing—..2d, by running the beer into casks, and then allowing the yeast to work out through the bung holes; and 3d, on what is called the *Union, or Burton system, which is the second plan with some improvements. 1886 ‘Bickerdyke’ Cur. Ale & Beer 333 When the fermentation has almost ceased, the beer is put into smaller vessels..and the froth either works over the side or is skimmed off or, as in the ‘union’ system at Burton, works up through pipes. |
| 1937 Nation 14 Aug. 165/1 Assuming..*unionwide participation. 1981 N.Y. Times 24 Mar. 14b/4 The operators also gave up a unionwide arbitration review board. |
| 1851 Kingsley Yeast xii, As he went on, talking wildly to himself, he passed the *Union Workhouse. 1863 Fawcett Pol. Econ. iv. iv. 581 The inmates of the union-workhouse are subject to certain restraints. |
Hence
ˈunional a., of or pertaining to union or a union (
esp. of countries);
ˈunioned a., joined in union;
ˈunioner U.S., an adherent of the Union during the American Civil War.
| 1889 Scott. Leader 18 Apr. 6 If the Unionist has destroyed both the national and *unional sentiment in the Irish. 1905 Q. Rev. July 273 The Unional flag had been hauled down. |
| 1787 J. Barlow Vision of Columbus vi. 191 Great Washington arose in view, And *union'd flags his stately steps pursue. |
| 1880 Tourgee Fool's Err. vii. 31 The old *Unioner's report in regard to the doughty colonel. |
▪ II. ˈunion, n.2 Now
arch. Also 4
vniune.
[ad. L. ūniōn-em, ūnio unio: cf. onion n. 7. So called (
acc. to Pliny
Nat. Hist. ix. xxxv. §56) because no two are exactly alike.]
A pearl of large size, good quality, and great value,
esp. one which is supposed to occur singly.
Freq. in 17th c.,
esp. in allusion to or echoes of the story related of Cleopatra: see Pliny
loc. cit. §59. The following early instance is
prob. of
AF. origin:
c 1305 Land Cokayne 89 Þer is saphir and vniune, Carbuncle and astiune.
| 1592 Soliman & Pers. ii. i, Then they play, and when she hath lost her gold, Erastus pointed to her chaine, and then she said: I, were it Cleopatraes vnion. 1599 Hakluyt Voy. II. 5 Precious unions and costly spyces. 1635 Heywood Hierarchy vii. 419 A Pendant Vnion to adorne her Eare, Rarer no Queene was euer seene to weare. 1694 Motteux Rabelais iv. iv. 19 Between whose Septenary Links..Rubies, Emeralds,..and Unions were alternatively set in. a 1700 Evelyn Diary 21 Feb. 1645, The other Union, that Cleopatra was about to dissolve and drink up. |
| fig. a 1672 P. Sterry Posth. Wks. (c 1680) II. 227 Pearls are called Unions, because they are ever found alone: a Saint's Pearl is his Union for a contrary Reason, because he is never found alone in his Spiritual Being or Beauty. |
b. attrib. with
pearl. Also
transf.| 1656 Blount Glossogr. s.v., Union Pearls..are the best sort of Pearl. [Hence in Phillips, Bailey, etc.] 1885 R. F. Burton Arab. Nts. (1887) III. 67 This damsel, the mistress of moons, the union pearl. |
▪ III. † ˈunion, v. Obs. rare.
Also 5
unyon.
[f. union n.1] trans. To unite.
| a 1470 Harding Chron. ccxli. heading, The kynges tytle to all his londes, briefely reported, with a monicion to vnion Scotlande and Englande. 1475 Bk. Noblesse (Roxb.) 23 The countee of Mayne by Maryage was unyoned to the erledom of Angew. |