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ammunition: ammunition: [17] Ammunition is one of many words which resulted from a mistaken analysis of ‘article’ plus ‘noun’ (compare ADDER). In this case, French la munition ‘the munitions, the supplies’ was misapprehended as l’ammunition, and borrowed thus into English. At first it was used for military supplies in general, and it does not seem to have been until the beginning of the 18th century that its meaning became restricted to ‘bullets, shells, etc’.

The word munition itself was borrowed into English from French in the 16th century. It originally meant ‘fortification’, and came from the Latin noun mūnītiō; this was a derivative of the verb munīre, ‘defend, fortify’, which in turn was based on the noun moenia ‘walls, ramparts’ (related to mūrus ‘wall’, the source of English mural).

Also from munīre, via medieval Latin mūnīmentum, comes muniment [15], a legal term for ‘title deed’; the semantic connection is that a title deed is a means by which someone can ‘defend’ his or her legal right to property.
=> muniment, munition, mural
bunion: bunion: [18] Bunion is probably a modification of the East Anglian dialect word bunny ‘lump, swelling’, representing a 15th-century form bony, glossed in a contemporary English-Latin dictionary as ‘great knob’. This was apparently borrowed from Old French hugne ‘bump on the head’.
funicular: funicular: [19] A funicular railway is literally one that runs on a ‘rope’. The word was coined from Latin fūniculus, a diminutive form of fūnis ‘rope’ (a word of uncertain origin from which comes Italian fune ‘cable, rope’). Fūnus also gave English funambulist ‘tightrope walker’ [18].
=> funambulist
municipal: municipal: [16] Latin mūnus meant ‘office, duty, gift’. Combined with -ceps ‘taker’ (a derivative of the verb capere ‘take’, source of English capture) it formed mūniceps, which denoted a ‘citizen of a Roman city (known as a mūnicipium) whose inhabitants had Roman citizenship but could not be magistrates’. From mūnicipium was derived the adjective mūnicipālis, source of English municipal; this was originally used for ‘of the internal affairs of a state, domestic’, and the modern application to the sphere of local government did not emerge strongly until the 19th century.

The stem of Latin mūnus also crops up in commūnis (source of English common), and so community and municipality are etymologically related. Mūnus in the later sense ‘gift’ formed the basis of the Latin adjective mūnificus ‘giving gifts’, hence ‘generous’, from which ultimately English gets munificent [16].
=> capture, common
opportunity: opportunity: [14] Opportunity has its origins in a Latin nautical term denoting ‘favourable winds’. This was opportūnus, a compound adjective formed from the prefix ob- ‘to’ and portus ‘harbour’ (source of English port). It was used originally for winds, ‘blowing towards the harbour’, and since it is good when such advantageous winds arrive, it developed metaphorically to ‘coming at a convenient time’. From it English got opportune [15] and the derived opportunity. Opportunism [19] is a much more recent introduction, which originated in the world of Italian politics.
=> port
petunia: petunia: see tobacco
punish: punish: [14] Latin pūnīre ‘punish’ was derived from the noun poena ‘penalty, punishment’ (source of English pain). It passed into Old French as punir, whose stem puniss- gave English punish. A derivative of pūnīre was pūnitīvus ‘inflicting punishment’, which has given English punitive [17].
=> pain
unicorn: unicorn: [13] Legends of a one-horned beast abounded in ancient times, perhaps inspired by the rhinoceros, or a sideways view of an antelope. When the early Greek translators of the Hebrew Bible came across the word re’em, which seems to have denoted a sort of wild ox, they rendered it monókerōs (literally ‘onehorn’), perhaps identifying it with the rhinoceros. The Vulgate turned this into Latin as unicornis, a noun use of an already existent Latin adjective meaning ‘one-horned’, formed from ūnus ‘one’ and cornū ‘horn’ (a relative of English horn).
=> horn
uniform: uniform: [16] Something that is uniform has literally only ‘one form’, the same throughout. The word comes, probably via French uniforme, from Latin ūniformis, a compound adjective formed from ūnus ‘one’ and forma ‘form’. Its use as a noun, for a ‘set of identical clothes worn by everyone’, dates from the 18th century, and was inspired by French.
=> form
union: union: [15] Union is one of a range of English words that go back to Latin ūnus ‘one’. This in turn was descended from a prehistoric Indo- European *oinos, which also produced English one. Other members of the family include inch, ounce, unique, unite [15], etc. As for union itself, its immediate ancestor was ūniō, a derivative of ūnus which denoted ‘unity’ or ‘the number one’. The application of the English word to an ‘association of workers’ dates from the early 19th century (a somewhat earlier term was combination).
=> inch, one, ounce, unique, unite
unique: 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
unison: unison: [16] Unison originated as a musical term, denoting ‘of the same sound’. It comes via Old French unison from late Latin ūnisonus, a compound adjective formed from ūnus ‘one’ and sonus ‘sound’ (source of English sound). The metaphorical sense ‘agreement, concord’ emerged in the 17th century.
=> sound
unit: unit: [16] The term unit was given general currency by the 16th-century English mathematician, astrologer, and magician John Dee. It was formed from Latin ūnus, probably on the analogy of digit, and used as a mathematical term to replace unity as a translation of Euclid’s monás ‘indivisible number’. In a comment added to his introduction to Sir Henry Billingsley’s translation of Euclid, Dee wrote ‘Note the word unit to express the Greek monas, and not unity: as we have all commonly until now used’.
unite: unite: see union
universe: universe: [14] Universe denotes etymologically ‘turned into one’, hence ‘whole, indivisible’. It goes back ultimately to Latin ūniversus ‘whole, entire’, a compound adjective formed from ūnus ‘one’ and versus, the past participle of vertere ‘turn’. Its neuter form, ūniversum, was used as a noun meaning the ‘whole world’ (based on the model of Greek to hólon ‘the whole’), and this passed into English via Old French univers. The Latin derivative ūniversālis gave English universal [14].
=> convert, version
university: university: [14] The etymological notion underlying a university is that it denotes the ‘whole’ number of those belonging to it. The word comes via Old French universite from Latin ūniversitās, which was derived from ūniversus (source of English universe). This originally meant the ‘whole’, but in the postclassical period it was applied to guilds and other such associations, referring to the ‘totality’ of their membership. These included societies of teachers and students, from which the modern meaning of university emerged.
=> universe
ammunition (n.): 1620s, from French soldiers' faulty separation of Middle French la munition into l'ammunition; from Latin munitionem (nominative munitio) "a fortifying" (see munition), and at first meaning all military supplies in general. The mistake in the word perhaps was by influence of French a(d)monition "warning." The error was corrected in French (Modern French munition), but retained in English.
bunion (n.): 1718, apparently from East Anglian dialectic bunny "lump, swelling" (16c.), which is probably from Middle French buigne "bump on the head, swelling from a blow" (see bun).
civil union (n.): by 2000, the usual U.S. term for legally recognized same-sex unions short of marriage.
communicable (adj.): late 14c., from Old French communicable, from Late Latin communicabilis, from communicare (see communication).
communicate (v.): 1520s, "to impart" (information, etc.), from Latin communicatus, past participle of communicare "impart, inform" (see communication). Meaning "to share, transmit" (diseases, etc.) is from 1530s. Related: Communicated; communicating.
communication (n.): late 14c., from Old French comunicacion (14c., Modern French communication), from Latin communicationem (nominative communicatio), noun of action from past participle stem of communicare "to share, divide out; communicate, impart, inform; join, unite, participate in," literally "to make common," from communis (see common (adj.)).
communicative (adj.): late 14c., "that communicates," from French communicatif, from Latin communicat-, past participle stem of communicare "impart, inform" (see communication). Meaning "talkative" is recorded from 1650s.
communicator (n.): 1660s, from Latin communicator, agent noun from communicare (see communication).
communion (n.): late 14c., from Old French comunion "community, communion" (12c.), from Latin communionem (nominative communio) "fellowship, mutual participation, a sharing," used in Late Latin ecclesiastical language for "participation in the sacrament," from communis (see common (adj.)). Used by Augustine, in belief that the word was derived from com- "with, together" + unus "oneness, union."
communique (n.): 1852, from French communiqué, originally past participle of communiquer "to communicate" (14c.), from Latin communicare "impart, inform" (see communication). Originally the heading of official statements from the French government. Better, if it must be used in English, to print it with the accent.
communism (n.): "social system based on collective ownership," 1843, from French communisme (c. 1840) from commun (Old French comun; see common (adj.)) + -isme (see -ism). Originally a theory of society; as name of a political system, 1850, a translation of German Kommunismus (itself from French), in Marx and Engels' "Manifesto of the Communist Party." Compare communist. In some cases in early and mid-20c., a term of abuse implying anti-social criminality without regard to political theory.
Each [i.e. socialism, communism, anarchism] stands for a state of things, or a striving after it, that differs much from that which we know; & for many of us, especially those who are comfortably at home in the world as it is, they have consequently come to be the positive, comparative, & superlative, distinguished not in kind but in degree only, of the terms of abuse applicable to those who would disturb our peace. [Fowler]
communist: 1841, as both a noun and adjective, from French communiste (see communism). First attested in writing by John Goodwin Barmby (1820-1881), British Owenite and utopian socialist who founded the London Communist Propaganda Society in 1841. Main modern sense emerged after publication of Communist Manifesto ("Manifest der Kommunistischen Partei") in 1848. Shortened form Commie attested from 1940. Related: Communistic.
communitarian (n.): 1841, "member of a commune," from community + ending from utilitarian, etc. The adjective is attested from 1909.
community (n.): late 14c., from Old French comunité "community, commonness, everybody" (Modern French communauté), from Latin communitatem (nominative communitas) "community, society, fellowship, friendly intercourse; courtesy, condescension, affability," from communis "common, public, general, shared by all or many," (see common (adj.)). Latin communitatem "was merely a noun of quality ... meaning 'fellowship, community of relations or feelings,' but in med.L. it was, like universitas, used concretely in the sense of 'a body of fellows or fellow-townsmen' " [OED].

An Old English word for "community" was gemænscipe "community, fellowship, union, common ownership," from mæne "common, public, general," probably composed from the same PIE roots as communis. Community service as a criminal sentence is recorded from 1972, American English. Community college is recorded from 1959.
disunion (n.): late 15c., from dis- + union.
disunite (v.): 1560s (implied in disunited); see dis- + unite. Related: Disuniting.
Eunice: fem. proper name, from Latinized form of Greek Eunike, literally "victorious," from eu "good, well" (see eu-) + nike "victory" (see Nike).
excommunicate (v.): early 15c., from Late Latin excommunicatus, past participle of excommunicare (see excommunication). Related: Excommunicated; excommunicating.
excommunication (n.): mid-15c., from Late Latin excommunicationem (nominative excommunicatio), noun of action from past participle stem of excommunicare "put out of the community," in Church Latin "to expel from communion," from ex- "out" (see ex-) + communicare, from communis "common" (see common).
funicular (adj.): 1660s, from funicle "a small cord" (1660s), from Latin funiculus "a slender rope," diminutive of funis "a cord, rope," of unknown etymology. De Vaan suggests it is a derivative of the root of filum. A funicular railway (1874) is one worked by a cable from a stationary engine.
funipendulous (adj.): "hanging from a rope," 1706, from stem of Latin funis "a cord, rope" + pendulus (see pendulous) + -ous.
grunion (n.): type of Pacific fish, 1901, from American Spanish gruñon "grunting fish," from grunir "to grunt," from Latin grunnire, from Greek gryzein "to grunt," from gry "a grunt," imitative. Compare the unrelated American fish called the grunt, "so called from the noise they make when taken."
immunity (n.): late 14c., "exempt from service or obligation," from Old French immunité and directly from Latin immunitatem (nominative immunitas) "exemption from performing public service or charge," from immunis "exempt, free," from assimilated form of in- "not, opposite of" (see in- (1)) + munis "performing services" (compare municipal), from PIE *moi-n-es-, suffixed form of root *mei- (1) "to change" (see mutable). Medical sense "protection from disease" is 1879, from French or German.
immunization (n.): 1893, from immunize + -ation.
immunize (v.): 1889, from immune + -ize. Related: Immunized; immunizing.
impecunious (adj.): "lacking in money," 1590s, from assimilated form of in- "not, opposite of" (see in- (1)) + Latin pecuniosus "rich," from pecunia "money, property" (see pecuniary). Related: Impecuniously; impecuniosity.
importunity (n.): early 15c., "persistence, insistence; over-eagerness," from Middle French importunité (14c.), from Latin importunitatem (nominative importunitas) "unsuitableness; unmannerliness, incivility," from importunus "unfit, troublesome" (see importune).
impunity (n.): 1530s, from Middle French impunité (14c.) and directly from Latin impunitatem (nominative impunitas) "freedom from punishment, omission of punishment," also "rashness, inconsideration," from impunis "unpunished, without punishment," from assimilated form of in- "not, opposite of" (see in- (1)) + poena "punishment" (see penal).
incommunicability (n.): 1630s; see incommunicable + -ity.
incommunicable (adj.): 1560s, "not communicative," from in- (1) "not" + communicable. Sense of "not able to be communicated" first recorded 1570s. Related: Incommunicably.
incommunicado (adj./adv.): 1844, American English, from Spanish incomunicado, past participle of incomunicar "deprive of communication," from in- "not" + comunicar "communicate," from Latin communicare "to share, impart" (see communication).
junior (adj.): late 13c., from Latin iunior, comparative of iuvenis "young, young man" (see young). Used after a person's name to mean "the younger of two" from late 13c. Abbreviation Jr. is attested from 1620s. Meaning "of lesser standing, more recent" is from 1766. That of "meant for younger people, of smaller size" is from 1860. Junior college first attested 1896; junior high school is from 1909. Junior miss "young teenage girl" is from 1907.
The junior high school is rapidly becoming the people's high school. The percentage of pupils completing the ninth year is constantly rising where junior high schools have been established. [Anne Laura McGregor, "Supervised Study in English for Junior High School Grades," New York, 1921]
junior (n.): 1520s, from junior (adj.).
juniority (n.): 1590s, from junior + -ity.