mono

Mono is a term used in several domains and derives from the Greek monos meaning "one." It can refer to a disease, a software project, or a type of audio, among other uses.

In medicine, mono commonly denotes infectious mononucleosis, a viral illness usually caused by the Epstein-Barr virus. It is transmitted mainly through saliva and often affects adolescents and young adults. Symptoms typically include fever, sore throat, swollen lymph nodes, fatigue, and sometimes an enlarged spleen. Diagnosis is usually by blood tests such as the Monospot test or EBV serology. Treatment is supportive: rest, fluids, and pain relief. Most people recover within two to four weeks, though fatigue can linger. There is no vaccine.

In computing, Mono refers to the Mono project, an open-source implementation of the Microsoft .NET Framework intended to run .NET applications on non-Windows platforms such as Linux and macOS. It originated in the early 2000s under Ximian (later acquired by Novell, and subsequently by Xamarin) and has been maintained as part of the broader .NET ecosystem. Mono provides a runtime and class libraries for languages like C# and F# and has been used to build cross-platform desktop, mobile, and server applications.

In audio, mono describes monophonic sound, consisting of a single audio channel, as opposed to stereo or multi-channel formats. Mono was standard in early radio and many vinyl recordings, though modern media often uses stereo or surround sound.

In linguistics and general terminology, mono is a prefix meaning "one," seen in terms such as monochrome (one color) and monophonic (one voice or line).