individual
pronunciation
How to pronounce individual in British English:
UK [ˌɪndɪˈvɪdʒuəl]
How to pronounce individual in American English:
US [ˌɪndɪˈvɪdʒuəl]
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- Noun:
- a human being
- a single organism
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- Adjective:
- being or characteristic of a single thing or person
- separate and distinct from others of the same kind
- characteristic of or meant for a single person or thing
- concerning one person exclusively
Word Origin
- individual
- individual: [15] To begin with, individual retained in English its ancestral meaning ‘not able to be divided’: ‘in the name of the holy and individual Trinity’. Richard Whitbourne, Discourse and Discovery of Newfoundland 1623. It was borrowed from medieval Latin indīviduālis, a derivative of Latin indīviduus ‘not divisible’, which in turn was based on dīviduus, a derivative of the verb dīvidere ‘divide’. The semantic move from ‘not divisible’ to ‘single, separate’ took place in the 17th century. (English acquired the formally parallel indivisible, incidentally, in the 14th century.)=> divide
- individual (adj.)
- early 15c., "one and indivisible" (with reference to the Trinity), from Medieval Latin individualis, from Latin individuus "indivisible," from in- "not, opposite of" (see in- (1)) + dividuus "divisible," from dividere "divide" (see divide). Not common before c. 1600 and the 15c. usage might be isolated. Sense of "single, separate" is 1610s; meaning "intended for one person" is from 1889.
- individual (n.)
- "single object or thing," c. 1600, from individual (adj.). Colloquial sense of "person" is attested from 1742. Latin individuum meant "an atom, indivisible particle;" in Middle English individuum was used in sense of "individual member of a species" from early 15c.
Example
- 1. Individual firms may find enforcement difficult .
- 2. Many individual sector prices are falling .
- 3. What about individual carbon offsetting projects ?
- 4. Like any geek adventure , it 's not just about individual achievement .
- 5. But in both cases , these people can do things to reduce their individual risk of cancer .