monodynamic

M3O1N1O1D2Y4N1A1M3I1C3

adjective

Possessing only one capacity or power.

OriginEnglish dynamic ← French dynamique ← Ancient Greek δυναμικός (dunamikós) →
Scrabble 21
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Meanings

adjectivemonodynamic (not comparable)
  1. not comparablePossessing only one capacity or power.

    Monodynamic men, men of a single talent, are rarely misapprehended; men of multitudinous powers, myriad-minded men, to use Coleridge's phrase, almost always.

    1823, Thomas De Quincey, “Death of a German Great Man”, in London Magazine
  2. not comparableForming a bond with only one other atom.

    the atom of iodine is monodynamic in hydriodic acid, where it combines with a single atom of monodynamic hydrogen; tridynamic in terchloride of iodine, where it combines with three monodynamic atoms of chlorine.

    1868, Reports of the Medical Officer of the Privy Council and Local Government, page 155

Origin

  1. Proto-Indo-European*men-
  2. Proto-Hellenic*mónwos
  3. Ancient Greekμόνος (mónos)
  4. Ancient Greekμονο- (mono-)
  5. Englishmono-
  6. Proto-Indo-European*dewh₂-
  7. Proto-Hellenic*dunamai
  8. Ancient Greekδῠ́νᾰμαι (dŭ́nămai)
  9. Ancient Greekδύναμις (dúnamis)
  10. Ancient Greekδυναμικός (dunamikós)
  11. Frenchdynamique
  12. Englishdynamic
  13. Englishmonodynamic

From mono- + dynamic.

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

monodynamic. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/monodynamic

MLA

“monodynamic.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/monodynamic. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “monodynamic,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/monodynamic.

Source: monodynamic on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.