union (1 as y), unyon

[Fr., from Lat. unionem, acc us. of unio (1) unity, (2) a union, (3) a single large pearl ( Pliny the Elder: H. N., IX. xiv. 56), in which various excellences, such as roundne , smoothne , and whitene , were united.] I. Ordinary Language: *1. A pearl of great beauty and value. "And in the cup an union shall he throw, Richer than that which four succe ive kings In Denmark's crown have worn." Shakesp.: Hamlet , v. 3. 2. The act of uniting or joining two or more things in one, thus forming a compound body. 3. The state of being united; junction, coalition. "To effect a civil union without a religious union."Macaulay. Hist . Eng ., ch. xiii. 4. Concord; agreement and conjunction of mind, will, affection, or interest. 5. That which is united or made into one body; a body formed by the combination or uniting of two or more individual things or persons; the aggregate of the united parts; a combination; a coalition, a confederacy; as (1) A confederacy of two or more nations, or of several states in one nation; as, The United States of America are called the Union. (2) Two or more English parishes consolidated into one for administration of the Poor Laws, Each union has a common workhouse, and the cost of the relief of the poor is charged upon the com mon fund. *(3) (See extract.) "Union is a combining or consolidation of two [Eng lish] churches in one, which is done by the consent of the bishop, the patron, and incumbent. And this is properly called an union; but there are two other sorts, as when one church is made subject to the other, and when one man is made prelate of both, and when a conventual is made cathedral." (4) A trades-union (q. v.). 6. A contraction of union-workhouse. [WORKHOUSE.] 7. A kind of device for a flag, used either by itself or forming the upper inner corner of an ensign; a flag marked with this device. "As the patron saint of England, the banner of St. George ever ranked highly. In heraldic language, it was 'Argent, a cro gules, i . e., a white flag with a plain red cro (the Plantage net colors, white and red.) *** The national flag of Scotland, or banner of St. Andrew, was azure, a saltire argent, i. e., a white saltire or St. Andrew's cro on a blue field. On the union with Scotland in 1707 these flags were combined. *** On the union with Ireland, in 1801, the banner of St. Patrick, which is a red saltire cro on a white field, was laid upon that of St. Andrews, and upon these the fim. briated cro of St. George-composing the flag now known to us as the Union Jack."- Field , Oct. 8, 1887. The union of the United States is a blue field with white stars, the stars denoting the union of the states and properly corresponding in number to the states. II. Technically : 1. Brewing : One of a series of casks placed side by side, and supported on pivots or trunnions, in which fermentation is completed. 2. Fabric : A fabric of flax and cotton. 3. Hydr .: A tubular coupling for pipes. 4. Ecclesiol.: Various small religious sects adopt the word Union as part of their name. Places of worship belonging to the Union Baptists, Union Churchmen, Union Congregationalists, and the Union Free Church are common appellations both in this country and abroad. 1. Act of Union: English history: (1) The act by which Scotland was united to Eng land in 1707. (2) The act by which Ireland was united to Great Britain in 1800. 2. Hypostatic union: [HYPOSTATIC.] 3. Union down: Naut .: A signal of distre at sea, made by reversing the flag or turning the union downward. union-jack, 8. [UNION, I. 7.]