Definition of one

What does the word one mean?

• part of speech: adjective

  (Num. adj.) single& integral, neither none nor fractional nor plural, numbered by the first or lowest integer, half of two, a, (o. man o. vote, principle of equality in voting; o.-&-twenty &c., or usu. twenty &c. -o.; o.-&-twentieth &c., twenty &c. -first; o. dozen, hundred, &c., precise or formal for a; o. man in ten, a thousand, &c., relatively few; some o. man must direct; for o. thing, he drinks; o. or two people, a few; God is o.); (adj. with secondary senses developed from the numeral) the only, single, forming a unity, united, identical, the same, unchanging, a particular but undefined, to be contrasted with another, (the o. way to do it; no o. man is equal to it; is o. & undivided; cried out with o. voice; were made o., married; become o., coalesce; remains for ever o., always the same; all in o. direction; met him o. night; will take you there o. day; o. man\'s meat is another man\'s poison); (numeral noun, with a& pl.; often used as substitute for repetition of previously expressed or implied noun) the number o., thing numbered with it, written symbol for it, a unit, unity, a single thing or person or example, (o. is half of two; in the year o., long ago; Aeneid, book o., first book of; number o., oneself, esp. as centre of selfish care; write down a o., three o o.; came by oo. & twos; sell scores where they sold oo.; never a o., none; will you make o.? archaic, join the party; ten &c. to o., long odds, high probability; all in o., combined; the all& the o., totality& unity; at o., reconciled, in agreement; I lose a neighbour& you again o.; pick me out a good o., some good oo.; which, what kind of, o. or oo. do you like?; that o., the o. in the window, will do); (adj. used ellipt. for itself or a with noun elsewhere expressed or customarily omitted& to be supplied with more or less of certainty) single person or thing of the kind implied (o. of them lost his or her hat; o. of the richest men in England; shall see you again o. of these fine days; at o. o\'clock or o., i.e. hour; o. & sixpence, i.e. shilling; gave him o. in the eye, owe him o., that was a nasty o., blow lit. or fig.; at o.-&-twenty, years of age; I for o. do not believe it; go o. better, bid, offer, risk, more by o. point; is o. too many for him, too hard &c. for him to deal with by o. degree; it is all o. to me, the same thing, indifferent; o. & all, all jointly& severally; o. by o., o. after another, singly, successively; o. with another, on the average; o. or the o., - the other, formula distinguishing members of pair, as o. is immoral, the other non-moral, also with pl. constr., as sheep& goats, of which the o. are the good &c.; o. another, formula of reciprocity with o. orig. subjective& another objective or possessive, as struck o. another, write to o. another, buy o. another\'s goods); (pronoun) a particular but unspecified person (archaic; o. came running; o. said it pleased him not), a person of specified kind (any, every, some, no, such a, o.; many a o. rhet., many people; little, dear, loved, oo.; the Holy O., O. above, God; the Evil O., the devil; behaves like o. frenzied; what a o. he is to make excuses! colloq.; bought it from o. Stephens), any person, esp. the speaker, spoken of as representing people in general (possessive one\'s, objective o., reference-form o., refl. one-self, formerly his, him, he& him, himself, or ungrammatically their, them, they& them, themselves; if o. cuts off o.\'s nose, o. hurts only oneself; it offends o. to be told o. is not wanted; also incorrectly for I, as o. let it pass, for o. did not want to scem mean); o.-eyed, having only, blind of, o. eye; o.-handed, having, done &c. with, o. hand only; o.-horse, drawn or worked by single horse, (fig.) petty, poorly equipped; o.-idea\'d, -ideaed, possessed by single idea, narrow-minded; o.-legged, having only o. leg, (fig.) o.-sided, unequal; o.-man, requiring, consisting of, done or managed by, o. man; o.-pair, room or set of rooms on first floor (above one pair or flight of stairs; o.-p.-back, front, such room in front or back of house); oneself, reflexive, & emphatic appositional, form of o. as generalizing pronoun (to starve oneself is suicide; to do right oneself is the great thing); o.-sided, having, occurring on, o. side only (a o.-s. street, with house on o. side only; (a o.-s. plant, with leaves or flowers all on o. side of stem), larger &c. on o. side, partial, unfair, prejudiced; so o.-sidedly adv., o.-sidedness n. Hence onefold a. [old English]