monad

[ mon-ad, moh-nad ]

/ ˈmɒn æd, ˈmoʊ næd /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR monad ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

Biology.

any simple, single-celled organism.
any of various small, flagellate, colorless ameboids with one to three flagella, especially of the genus Monas.

Chemistry. an element, atom, or group having a valence of one.Compare dyad(def 3), triad(def 2a).

Philosophy.

(in the metaphysics of Leibniz) an unextended, indivisible, and indestructible entity that is the basic or ultimate constituent of the universe and a microcosm of it.
(in the philosophy of Giordano Bruno) a basic and irreducible metaphysical unit that is spatially and psychically individuated.
any basic metaphysical entity, especially having an autonomous life.

a single unit or entity.

RELATED WORDS

one, unit, atom

Nearby words

monachal, monachism, monacid, monacillo, monaco, monad, monadelphous, monades, monadic, monadism, monadnock

Origin of monad

1605–15; < Late Latin monad- (stem of monas) < Greek (stem of monás): unity. See mon-, -ad¹

Related forms

mo·nad·ic

[muh-nad-ik] /məˈnæd ɪk/, mo·nad·i·cal, mo·nad·al, adjectivemo·nad·i·cal·ly, adverb

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for monad

As a matter of fact, it is a puzzle based on the principle contained in that curious Chinese symbol the Monad.
Amusements in Mathematics|Henry Ernest Dudeney
Still higher ascends the life of the monad when it attains to sensation and memory, as is the case in the animal kingdom.
A History of Philosophy in Epitome|Albert Schwegler
All this carbon has played its part, and many parts in its time, as animal existences from monad up to man.
Mistakes of Moses|Robert G. Ingersoll
The monad is literally the many in the one; it is the answer to the inquiry of Greek philosophy.
Leibniz's New Essays Concerning the Human Understanding|John Dewey

Only one minimum is absolutely so named,—God as the monad of monads.
Giordano Bruno|James Lewis McIntyre

British Dictionary definitions for monad

monad

/ (ˈmɒnæd, ˈməʊ-) /

noun

plural -ads or -ades (-əˌdiːz) philosophy

any fundamental singular metaphysical entity, esp if autonomous
(in the metaphysics of Leibnitz) a simple indestructible nonspatial element regarded as the unit of which reality consists
(in the pantheistic philosophy of Giordano Bruno) a fundamental metaphysical unit that is spatially extended and psychically aware

a single-celled organism, esp a flagellate protozoan

an atom, ion, or radical with a valency of one

Also called (for senses 1, 2): monas

Derived Forms

monadical, adjectivemonadically, adverb

Word Origin for monad

C17: from Late Latin monas, from Greek: unit, from monos alone

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Medicine definitions for monad

monad

[ mō′năd′ ]

n.

An atom or a radical with a valence of 1.

A single-celled microorganism, especially a protozoan of the genus Monas.

Any of the four chromatids of a tetrad that, after the first and second meiotic divisions, separate to become the chromosomal material in each of the four daughter cells.

Related forms

mo•nad′ic (mə-năd′ik) null adj.