unul

Unul is a Romanian word that primarily means "one." It functions as a numeral in counting contexts and as a pronoun when referring to a single person or thing within a group. The term is historically derived from the Latin unus and has cognates in other Romance languages, such as uno in Italian, uno in Spanish, and un in French.

In Romanian grammar, unor forms of the word are used according to gender and syntactic role. As a pronoun, masculine form "unul" and feminine form "una" appear in phrases like "unul dintre participanți" (one of the participants) and "una dintre participante" (one of the female participants). When the number is used before a masculine singular noun as part of an indefinite noun phrase, the corresponding indefinite article "un" is used rather than "unu" (for example, "un copil" = a child).

The numeral form "unu" is used when the number 1 is spoken or written on its own or in enumerations, as in lists: "unu, doi, trei." Romanian also uses the indefinite article "un" in front of masculine nouns, whereas the feminine indefinite article is "o" (e.g., "o carte").

Common uses of unu include expressing quantity, identifying a single item in contrast with others, and serving as a stand-alone numeral in lists or clarifications. The word interacts with other numerals and pronouns in phrases like "unu dintre ei" (one of them, masculine) and "una dintre ele" (one of them, feminine), maintaining a neutral, concise tone characteristic of encyclopedia entries.