UNION

The act of uniting or joining two or more things into one, or the state of being united or joined; junction; coalition; combination.

Agreement and conjunction of mind, spirit, will, affections, or the like; harmony; concord.

That which is united, or made one; something formed by a combination or coalition of parts or members; a confederation; a consolidated body; a league; as, the weavers have formed a union; trades unions have become very numerous; the United States of America are often called the Union. A. Hamilton.

A textile fabric composed of two or more materials, as cotton, silk, wool, etc., woven together.

A large, fine pearl. [Obs.] If they [pearls] be white, great, round, smooth, and weighty . . . our dainties and delicates here at Rome . . . call them unions, as a man would say "singular," and by themselves alone. Holland. In the cup an union shall he throw, Richer than that which four successive kings In Denmark's crown have worn. Shak.

A device emblematic of union, used on a national flag or ensign, sometimes, as in the military standard of Great Britain, covering the whole field; sometimes, as in the flag of the United States, and the English naval and marine flag, occupying the upper inner corner, the rest of the flag being called the fly. Also, a flag having such a device; especially, the flag of Great Britain.

A joint or other connection uniting parts of machinery, or the like, as the elastic pipe of a tender connecting it with the feed pipe of a locomotive engine; especially, a pipe fitting for connecting pipes, or pipes and fittings, in such a way as to facilitate disconnection.

A cask suspended on trunnions, in which fermentation is carried on. Hypostatic union (Theol.) See under Hypostatic. -- Latin union. See under Latin. -- Legislative Union (Eng. Hist.), the union of Great Britain and Ireland, which took place Jan. 1, 1801. -- Union, or Act of Union (Eng. Hist.), the act by which Scotland was united to England, or by which the two kingdoms were incorporated into one, in 1707. -- Union by the first, or second, intention. (Surg.) See To heal by the first, or second, intention, under Intention. -- Union down (Naut.), a signal of distress at sea made by reversing the flag, or turning its union downward. -- Union jack. (Naut.) See Jack, n., 10. -- Union joint. (Mech.) (a) A joint formed by means of a union. (b) A piece of pipe made in the form of the letter T.