monad

American  

[mon-ad, moh-nad] / ˈmɒn æd, ˈmoʊ næd /

noun

1. Biology.

   1. any simple, single-celled organism.

   2. any of various small, flagellate, colorless ameboids with one to three flagella, especially of the genus Monas.

2. Chemistry. an element, atom, or group having a valence of one.

3. Philosophy.

   1. (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.

   2. (in the philosophy of Giordano Bruno) a basic and irreducible metaphysical unit that is spatially and psychically individuated.

   3. any basic metaphysical entity, especially having an autonomous life.

4. a single unit or entity.

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monad British  

/ ˈmɒnæd, ˈməʊ- /

noun

1. philosophy

   1. any fundamental singular metaphysical entity, esp if autonomous

   2. (in the metaphysics of Leibnitz) a simple indestructible nonspatial element regarded as the unit of which reality consists

   3. (in the pantheistic philosophy of Giordano Bruno) a fundamental metaphysical unit that is spatially extended and psychically aware

2. a single-celled organism, esp a flagellate protozoan

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

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Other Word Forms

• monadal
  adjective
• monadic
  adjective
• monadical
  adjective
• monadically
  adverb

Etymology

Origin of monad

First recorded in 1605–15; from Late Latin monad- (stem of monas), from Greek monás (stem monád- ) “unity, monad”; see mon-, -ad ¹

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

monad

Each monad has its own destiny, and it acts and moves entirely of its own accord.

From The New Yorker ● Aug. 29, 2016

There she found another "bantling of fate," whose Nordic features suggested that he was an atavism, or at least a primeval anachronism; in any case, a monad.

From Time Magazine Archive

Yet hoped we on; every monad has his day....

From Melomaniacs by Huneker, James

Whatever may be the ultimate force which actuates this monad, the manifestations of its presence and the result of its energy are seen externally.

From The Speech of Monkeys by Garner, Richard Lynch

Trivalent, trī′vā-lent, or triv′-, adj. equivalent in combining or displacing power to three monad atoms.—n.

From Chambers's Twentieth Century Dictionary (part 4 of 4: S-Z and supplements) by Various