n. 1 the number one; a unit. 2 Philos. any ultimate unit of being (e.g. a soul, an atom, a person, God). 3 Biol. a simple organism, e.g. one assumed as the first in the genealogy of living beings. monadic adj. monadism n. (in sense 2).
[ F monade or LL monas monad- f. Gk monas -ados unit f. monos alone ]