individual
English Edit
Alternative forms Edit
- individuall (obsolete)
Etymology Edit
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 Edit
- IPA(key): /ˌɪndɪˈvɪd͡ʒ(ʊ)əl/, /ˌɪndə-/
- (Received Pronunciation) IPA(key): /ɪndɪˈvɪd͡ʒʊ(ə)l/, /ɪndɪˈvɪdjʊ(ə)l/
Audio (US) (file)
Noun Edit
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.
- 2006, Steven French, “Identity and Individuality in Quantum Theory”, in Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy[1]:
- It is typically held that chairs, trees, rocks, people and many of the so-called ‘everyday’ objects we encounter can be regarded as individuals.
- 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 Edit
person considered alone
|
single human as legal subject
|
individual object as contrasted to a class
element belonging to a population
Adjective Edit
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 Edit
- (relating to a single person or thing): single, self-standing
- (intended for a single person or thing): personal, single
Antonyms Edit
- (relating to a single person or thing): collective
- (intended for a single person or thing): group, joint, shared
Derived terms Edit
Translations Edit
relating to a single person or thing
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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 Edit
- “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 Edit
Pronunciation Edit
Adjective Edit
individual m or f (masculine and feminine plural individuals)
Derived terms Edit
Related terms Edit
Further reading Edit
- “individual” in Diccionari de la llengua catalana, segona edició, Institut d’Estudis Catalans.
Galician Edit
Adjective Edit
individual m or f (plural individuais)
Derived terms Edit
Related terms Edit
Further reading Edit
- “individual” in Dicionario da Real Academia Galega, Royal Galician Academy.
Portuguese Edit
Pronunciation Edit
- Hyphenation: in‧di‧vi‧du‧al
Adjective Edit
individual m or f (plural individuais)
Derived terms Edit
Further reading Edit
- “individual” in Dicionário Priberam da Língua Portuguesa.
Romanian Edit
Etymology Edit
Borrowed from French individuel.
Adjective Edit
individual m or n (feminine singular individuală, masculine plural individuali, feminine and neuter plural individuale)
Declension Edit
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 Edit
Spanish Edit
Pronunciation Edit
Adjective Edit
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 Edit
Related terms Edit
Noun Edit
individual m (plural individuales)
Further reading Edit
- “individual”, in Diccionario de la lengua española, Vigésima tercera edición, Real Academia Española, 2014