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Entry 8 senses Webster, 1913

Union

/yo͞on'-yən/ · Un·ion · IPA /ˈjuː.njən/
01 n. The act of uniting or joining two or more things into one, or the state of being united or joined; junction; coalition; combination.
  1. 1.
    The act of uniting or joining two or more things into one, or the state of being united or joined; junction; coalition; combination.
  2. 2.
    Agreement and conjunction of mind, spirit, will, affections, or the like; harmony; concord.
  3. 3.
    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.
  4. 4.
    A textile fabric composed of two or more materials, as cotton, silk, wool, etc., woven together.
  5. 5.
    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.
  6. 6.
    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.
  7. 7.
    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.(Mach.)
  8. 8.
    A cask suspended on trunnions, in which fermentation is carried on.(Brewing)
    “One kingdom, joy, and union without end.” — Milton.
    “[Man] is to . . . beget Like of his like, his image multiplied. In unity defective; which requires Collateral love, and dearest amity.” — Milton.
Phrases & compounds
Act of Union — the act by which Scotland was united to England, or by which the two kingdoms were incorporated into one, in 1707.
Hypostatic union — See under Hypostatic.
Latin union — See under Latin.
Legislative Union — the union of Great Britain and Ireland, which took place Jan. 1, 1801.
Union by the first, [or] second, intention — See To heal by the first intention, [or] To heal by the second intention, under Intention.
Union down — a signal of distress at sea made by reversing the flag, or turning its union downward.
Union jack — See Jack, n., 10.
Union joint — A joint formed by means of a union.
Syn. Unity; junction; connection; concord; alliance; coalition; combination; confederacy.
-- Union, Unity. Union is the act of bringing two or more things together so as to make but one, or the state of being united into one. Unity is a state of simple oneness, either of essence, as the unity of God, or of action, feeling, etc., as unity of design, of affection, etc. Thus, we may speak of effecting a union of interests which shall result in a unity of labor and interest in securing a given object.