uniqueyoudaoicibaDictYouDict[unique 词源字典]
unique: [17] Unique comes via French unique from Latin ūnicus ‘only, sole’. This was derived from ūnus ‘one’, a distant relative of English one. It originally meant simply ‘single, sole’ in English, and the extended sense ‘unequalled, unparalleled’, which has often drawn the hostile criticism of purists (particularly when accompanied by qualifiers such as very or completely), did not emerge until the late 18th century, under French influence.
=> one, union[unique etymology, unique origin, 英语词源]
nonpareil (adj.)youdaoicibaDictYouDict
late 15c., "having no equal," from Middle French nonpareil "unequalled, peerless," from non- "not" (see non-) + pareil "equal." The noun meaning "an unequaled person or thing" is from 1590s; first applied to a kind of candy 1690s. As the name of a printing type (6 point size) it is attested from 1640s.