Onement

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. The process of making amends or reconciling a breach between people or with a divine power
2. Restoration of harmony or accord following a wrong, injury, or estrangement
3. The act of becoming at one again after separation or discord, typically through expiation or restoration of relationship

Etymology: "Onement" is a rare English noun built from "one" and the suffix "-ment," which forms nouns denoting a state, result, or act. Its meaning is essentially "the state of being made one," so a reconciliation or union between people or things. The word is best known from its appearance in the Atonement tradition of English Christianity, where "at-one-ment" was used to render the idea of humanity being brought back into harmony with God. Breaking the word into "at-one-ment" makes the original sense clearer: to be at one with someone is to be in agreement or unity with them. Because "onement" is simply the joining of a familiar word with a productive suffix, its history is plain: the notable part is the older spelling "atonement," which carried the same sense of making things one, and which eventually came to mean reparation for a wrong.