'uninucleate' originates from a modern combination of the prefix 'uni-' (from Latin 'unus') meaning 'one' and 'nucleate' (from Latin 'nucleus') meaning 'kernel' or 'core'.

'uninucleate' was formed in modern scientific/biological English by joining 'uni-' + 'nucleate' (itself from Latin 'nucleus'); the parts were combined in New/Modern Latin and then adopted into English usage as the adjective 'uninucleate'.

Initially formed to mean 'having a single nucleus' in descriptions of cells and tissues, and this meaning has remained stable in modern scientific usage.