(in literature and art) a relation of all the parts or elements of a work constituting a harmonious whole and producing a single general effect.
8.
one of the three principles of dramatic structure (the three unities) derived from Aristotelian aesthetics and formalized in the neoclassic canon in which a play is required to represent action as taking place in one day (unity of time) as occurring within one place (unity of place) and as having a single plot with a beginning, middle, and end (unity of action)
Origin
1250-1300;Middle Englishunite < Old French < Latinūnitās, equivalent to ūn(us) one + -itās-ity
Related forms
nonunity, noun, plural nonunities.
self-unity, noun
superunity, noun
Synonyms
1. singleness, singularity, individuality. See union. 5. concert, unison.
Antonyms
1. diversity, variety.
Examples from the web for unity
Its voters were proud of and pleased with the array of choices before them: proud of its diversity, pleased with its unity.
But that style is one with the film's substance-and that unity is the film's main virtue.
But in a room together they turned into meek conformists, valuing unity over truth.
The popularity of the subject was tied to the movements for national unity that dominated the period.
Though his use of color is often strikingly original, it tends to disrupt the unity that he achieved with shading alone.
While the conference lacked some thematic unity, the speakers delivered a range of interesting insights.
So we're left with a unity which is simply monetary.
Such a society could engender studio unity and promote the motion-picture business.
Swords turn to guitars, democracy blooms, and music helps bring a sense of national unity.
The problem is how to integrate the conscious mind with the physical brain-how to reveal a unity beneath this apparent diversity.
British Dictionary definitions for unity
unity
/ˈjuːnɪtɪ/
noun (pl) -ties
1.
the state or quality of being one; oneness
2.
the act, state, or quality of forming a whole from separate parts
3.
something whole or complete that is composed of separate parts
4.
mutual agreement; harmony or concord: the participants were no longer in unity
5.
uniformity or constancy: unity of purpose
6.
(maths)
the number or numeral one
a quantity assuming the value of one: the area of the triangle was regarded as unity
the element of a set producing no change in a number following multiplication
7.
the arrangement of the elements in a work of art in accordance with a single overall design or purpose
8.
any one of the three principles of dramatic structure deriving from Aristotle's Poetics by which the action of a play should be limited to a single plot (unity of action), a single location (unity of place), and the events of a single day (unity of time)
Word Origin
C13: from Old French unité, from Latin ūnitās, from ūnus one
Word Origin and History for unity
n.
c.1300, from Anglo-French unite, Old French unite (c.1200), from Latin unitatem (nominative unitas) "oneness, sameness, agreement," from unus "one" (see one).
unity in Technology
A high-level parallel language. A translator into MPL is available by (ftp://sanfrancisco.ira.uka.de/pub/maspar/maspar_unity.tar.Z). See also MasPar Unity. ["Parallel Program Design", K.M. Chandry and Misra, A-W 1988]. (1994-11-29)