TITLE: Why can't we just say 1 instead of "unity"?
QUESTION [11 upvotes]: I know this is a soft question of sorts but I am curious why we can't just say "1" instead of "unity," e.g. a root of unity.

REPLY [23 votes]: We can.${}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}$