individual
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English
Alternative forms
- individuall (obsolete)
Etymology
| PIE word |
|---|
| *dwóh₁ |
From Medieval Latin indīviduālis, from Latin indīviduum (“an indivisible thing”), neuter of indīviduus (“indivisible, undivided”), from in + dīviduus (“divisible”), from dīvidō (“divide”).
Pronunciation
- (Received Pronunciation) IPA(key): /ɪndɪˈvɪd͡ʒʊ(ə)l/, /ɪndɪˈvɪdjʊ(ə)l/
- (General American) IPA(key): /ˌɪndɪˈvɪd͡ʒ(u)əl/, /ˌɪndə-/
Audio (US) (file)
Noun
individual (plural individuals)
- A person considered alone, rather than as belonging to a group of people.
- He is an unusual individual.
- (law) A single physical human being as a legal subject, as opposed to a legal person such as a corporation.
- 1982, Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms:
- Every individual is equal before and under the law and has the right to the equal protection and equal benefit of the law without discrimination […].
- An object, be it a thing or an agent, as contrasted to a class.
- 2013 May-June, Katrina G. Claw, “Rapid Evolution in Eggs and Sperm”, in American Scientist, volume 101, number 3:
- In plants, the ability to recognize self from nonself plays an important role in fertilization, because self-fertilization will result in less diverse offspring than fertilization with pollen from another individual.
- (statistics) An element belonging to a population.
Translations
person considered alone
|
single human as legal subject
|
individual object as contrasted to a class
element belonging to a population
Adjective
individual (comparative more individual, superlative most individual)
- Relating to a single person or thing as opposed to more than one.
- As we can't print them all together, the individual pages will have to be printed one by one.
- 2013 June 1, “End of the peer show”, in The Economist, volume 407, number 8838, page 71:
- Finance is seldom romantic. But the idea of peer-to-peer lending comes close. This is an industry that brings together individual savers and lenders on online platforms. Those that want to borrow are matched with those that want to lend.
- Intended for a single person as opposed to more than one person.
- individual personal pension; individual cream cakes
- Not divisible without losing its identity.
Synonyms
- (relating to a single person or thing): single, self-standing
- (intended for a single person or thing): personal, single
Antonyms
- (antonym(s) of "relating to a single person or thing"): collective
- (antonym(s) of "intended for a single person or thing"): group, joint, shared
Derived terms
Translations
relating to a single person or thing
|
intended for a single person
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- The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.
Translations to be checked
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Further reading
- “individual”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.
- “individual”, in The Century Dictionary , New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911, →OCLC.
- "individual" in Raymond Williams, Keywords (revised), 1983, Fontana Press, page 161.
Catalan
Pronunciation
Adjective
individual m or f (masculine and feminine plural individuals)
Derived terms
Related terms
Further reading
- “individual” in Diccionari de la llengua catalana, segona edició, Institut d’Estudis Catalans.
Galician
Adjective
individual m or f (plural individuais)
Derived terms
Related terms
Further reading
- “individual” in Dicionario da Real Academia Galega, Royal Galician Academy.
Portuguese
Pronunciation
- Hyphenation: in‧di‧vi‧du‧al
Adjective
individual m or f (plural individuais)
Derived terms
Further reading
Romanian
Etymology
Borrowed from French individuel. By surface analysis, individ + -ual.
Pronunciation
Audio (file)
Adjective
individual m or n (feminine singular individuală, masculine plural individuali, feminine and neuter plural individuale)
Declension
Declension of individual
| singular | plural | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| masculine | neuter | feminine | masculine | neuter | feminine | ||
| nominative/ accusative |
indefinite | individual | individuală | individuali | individuale | ||
| definite | individualul | individuala | individualii | individualele | |||
| genitive/ dative |
indefinite | individual | individuale | individuali | individuale | ||
| definite | individualului | individualei | individualilor | individualelor | |||
Related terms
Spanish
Pronunciation
Adjective
individual m or f (masculine and feminine plural individuales)
- individual
- case-by-case
- one-on-one (e.g., relationship or bond)
- one-man (e.g., a one-man show)
- personal, individualized
Derived terms
Related terms
Noun
individual m (plural individuales)
Further reading
- “individual”, in Diccionario de la lengua española, Vigésima tercera edición, Real Academia Española, 2014