monad

[mon-ad, moh-nad]

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

Origin of monad

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

Related formsmo·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

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 Formsmonadical, 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

Word Origin and History for monad

monad

"unity, arithmetical unit," 1610s, from Late Latin monas (genitive monadis), from Greek monas "unit," from monos "alone" (see mono-). In Leibnitz's philosophy, "an ultimate unit of being" (1748). Related: Monadic.

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 formsmo•nad′ic (mə-năd′ik) null adj.