un — ONE

[unh] (n. m.) It's the biggest cliché (Oh, how odd. Another French word) of all. Faced with a major catastrophe, the world unites. Whether it's food aid after a tsunami hits southeast Asia or shelter for those displaced by the broken levees of New Orleans or treating the emotional trauma Americans suffered after 9/11, nations and populations, in dire times, become one. The sleazy part is that a Super Bowl or World Cup has the same effect, however benign comparatively. Again, many—helpers, consolers and sports fans—unite, a word taken from the French for the numeral one: un.