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unit


  2  definitions  found 
 
  From  Webster's  Revised  Unabridged  Dictionary  (1913)  [web1913]: 
 
  Unit  \U"nit\,  n.  [Abbrev.  from  unity.] 
  1.  A  single  thing  or  person. 
 
  2.  (Arith.)  The  least  whole  number;  one 
 
  Units  are  the  integral  parts  of  any  large  number. 
  --I.  Watts. 
 
  3.  A  gold  coin  of  the  reign  of  James  I.,  of  the  value  of 
  twenty  shillings.  --Camden. 
 
  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 
 
  5.  (Math.)  A  single  thing  as  a  magnitude  or  number,  regarded 
  as  an  undivided  whole. 
 
  {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 
 
  From  WordNet  r  1.6  [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:  an  assemblage  of  parts  that  is  regarded  as  a  single  entity; 
  "how  big  is  that  part  compared  to  the  whole?";  "the 
  repairman  simply  replaced  the  unit"  [syn:  {whole},  {whole 
  thing}] 
  5:  a  single  undivided  whole;  "an  idea  is  not  a  unit  that  can  be 
  moved  from  one  brain  to  another" 
  6:  a  combination  of  interrelated  interacting  artifacts  designed 
  to  work  as  a  coherent  entity;  "he  bought  a  new  stereo 
  system";  "the  unit  consists  of  a  motor  and  a  small 
  computer"  [syn:  {system}] 
  7:  a  single  undivided  natural  entity  occurring  in  the 
  composition  of  something  else;  "units  of  nucleic  acids" 
  [syn:  {building  block}] 




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