monad

(nad′, mänad′)

noun

  1. a unit; something simple and indivisible
  2. Biol.
    1. any simple, single-celled organism, specif., a simple type of flagellated protozoan or protist
    2. any of the four nuclei formed at the completion of meiosis
  3. Chem. a monovalent atom, element, or radical
  4. Philos. an entity or elementary being thought of as a microcosm or ultimate unit

Origin: LL monas (gen. monadis) < Gr monas (gen. monados), a unit, unity < monos, alone: see mono-

adjective

of a monad or monads

Related Forms:

See monad in American Heritage Dictionary 4

noun
  1. Philosophy An indivisible, impenetrable unit of substance viewed as the basic constituent element of physical reality in the metaphysics of Leibniz.
  2. Biology A single-celled microorganism, especially a flagellate protozoan of the genus Monas.
  3. Chemistry An atom or a radical with valence 1.

Origin:

Origin: Latin monas, monad-, unit

Origin: , from Greek

Origin: , from monos, single; see men-4 in Indo-European roots

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Related Forms:

  • mo·nadˈic (mə-nădˈĭk), mo·nadˈi·cal adjective
  • mo·nadˈi·cal·ly adverb
  • moˈnad·ism noun

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