individual

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)

1. A person considered alone, rather than as belonging to a group of people.

   He is an unusual individual.

   • 2024 September 16, Priya Krishna, “The Customized Drink Is Out of Control”, in The New York Times‎^[1], New York, N.Y.: The New York Times Company, →ISSN, →OCLC:

     “You have to be an individual,” said Ms. Smoke, a 40-year-old saleswoman, as she sipped her beverage. “You can’t just get black coffee.”

     (Can we archive this URL?)

2. (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 […].

3. 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^[2]:

     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.

4. (statistics) An element belonging to a population.

Translations

person considered alone

• Afrikaans: individu (af)
• Albanian: individ (sq) m
• Arabic: فَرْد (ar) m (fard)
• Armenian: անհատ (hy) (anhat), առանձնյակ (hy) (aṙanjnyak) (biology)
• Azerbaijani: fərd (az)
• Belarusian: індыві́д m (indyvíd)
• Bengali: ব্যক্তি (bn) (bêkti)
• Bulgarian: индиви́д (bg) m (indivíd)
• Burmese: ပုဂ္ဂိုလ် (my) (pugguil)
• Catalan: individu (ca) m
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 個體 / 个体 (zh) (gètǐ), 個人 / 个人 (zh) (gèrén), 私人 (zh) (sīrén)

• Czech: jedinec (cs) m, jednotlivec (cs) m
• Danish: individ (da) n
• Dutch: enkeling (nl) m, individu (nl) n
• Esperanto: unuopulo
• Estonian: indiviid
• Finnish: yksilö (fi)
• French: individu (fr) m
• Galician: individuo (gl) m
• Georgian: პიროვნება (ṗirovneba), ინდივიდი (individi)
• German: Individuum (de) n
• Greek: άτομο (el) n (átomo)
• Hebrew: פרט (he) m (prat)
• Hindi: व्यक्ति (hi) m (vyakti)
• Hungarian: individuum (hu), egyén (hu)
• Ido: individuo (io)
• Italian: individuo (it), soggetto (it)
• Japanese: 個人 (ja) (こじん, kojin), 個体 (ja) (こたい, kotai), 私人 (ja) (しじん, shijin)
• Kazakh: жеке тұлға (jeke tūlğa), жеке түр (jeke tür), жеке адам (jeke adam)
• Khmer: បុគ្គល (km) (bokkŭəl)
• Korean: 개인 (ko) (gaein), 개체 (gaeche), 사인 (ko) (sain)
• Kyrgyz: индивидуум (individuum), индивид (individ)
• Lao: ບຸກຄົນ (lo) (buk khon), ພົນ (phon)
• Latin: indīviduum n
• Latvian: indivīds m
• Lithuanian: individas m
• Macedonian: индивидуа f (individua), поединец m (poedinec)
• Malay: individu (ms)
• Maori: tangata (mi)
• Navajo: hwó
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: individ (no) n, enkeltperson m, menneske (no) n

  Nynorsk: individ n, enkeltperson m

• Pali: puggala m
• Pashto: فرد (ps) m (fard)
• Persian: فرد (fa) (fard)
• Plautdietsch: Persoon (nds) f
• Polish: indywiduum (pl) n, jednostka (pl) f
• Portuguese: indivíduo (pt) m
• Romanian: individ (ro)
• Russian: индиви́дуум (ru) m (indivíduum), лицо́ (ru) n (licó), ли́чность (ru) f (líčnostʹ), осо́ба (ru) f (osóba), индиви́д (ru) m (indivíd), персо́на (ru) f (persóna), о́собь (ru) f (ósobʹ) (biology)
• Sanskrit: व्यक्ति (sa) m (vyakti)
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: поједи́нац m, поједи́нка f, индиви́дуа f

  Roman: pojedínac (sh) m, pojedinka f, indivídua (sh) f

• Slovak: jedinec m, jednotlivec m
• Slovene: posameznik (sl) m, posameznica f
• Spanish: individuo (es) m
• Swedish: individ (sv) c, enskild (sv) c
• Tajik: фард (fard)
• Telugu: వ్యక్తి (te) (vyakti)
• Thai: บุคคล (th) (bùk-kon)
• Turkish: birey (tr)
• Ukrainian: індиві́д (uk) m (indyvíd), індиві́дуум m (indyvíduum)
• Urdu: فرد (fard)
• Uzbek: fard (uz), individuum (uz)
• Vietnamese: cá nhân (vi), cá thể (vi)

single human as legal subject

• Afrikaans: individu (af)
• Azerbaijani: fiziki şəxs
• Bulgarian: личност (bg) f (ličnost)
• Finnish: henkilö (fi), luonnollinen henkilö (fi)
• Georgian: ფიზიკური პირი (piziḳuri ṗiri), ცალკე პირი (calḳe ṗiri)
• Hungarian: magánszemély (hu), magánember (hu)
• Japanese: 個人 (ja) (こじん, kojin)
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: enkeltperson m

  Nynorsk: enkeltperson m

• Polish: osoba fizyczna (pl) f
• Russian: физи́ческое лицо́ (ru) n (fizíčeskoje licó)

individual object as contrasted to a class

• Finnish: yksilö (fi)
• Hungarian: egyed (hu)
• Latin: specialis m or f
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: individ (no) n

• Polish: indywidualny (pl) m, osobnik (pl) m (biology)
• Portuguese: indivíduo (pt) m

element belonging to a population

• French: individu (fr)
• Galician: individuo (gl) m
• Hungarian: egyed (hu)
• Italian: individuo (it)
• Portuguese: indivíduo (pt)
• Spanish: individuo (es)

Adjective

individual (comparative more individual, superlative most individual)

1. 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.

2. Intended for a single person as opposed to more than one person.

   individual personal pension; individual cream cakes

3. 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

• individualise
• individualism
• individuality
• individualize
• individually
• individual medley
• individualness
• individual psychology
• individual pursuit
• individual sport
• individual voluntary arrangement
• interindividual

 

Translations

relating to a single person or thing

• Asturian: individual (ast)
• Azerbaijani: fərdi (az), şəxsi (az)
• Belarusian: асо́бны (be) (asóbny), аддзе́льны (addzjélʹny), асабі́сты (asabísty), індывідуа́льны (indyviduálʹny)
• Bulgarian: отделен (bg) (otdelen), индивидуален (bg) (individualen)
• Catalan: individual (ca)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 單個 / 单个 (zh) (dāngè), 獨個 / 独个 (dúgè)

• Czech: jednotlivý (cs)
• Danish: individuel
• Dutch: individueel (nl)
• Finnish: yksittäinen (fi)
• French: individuel (fr)
• Galician: individual (gl)
• Georgian: ინდივიდუალური (individualuri)
• German: einzeln (de), individuell (de)
• Hungarian: egyes (hu), egyedi (hu), különálló (hu)
• Italian: singolo (it), specifico (it)
• Japanese: 個々の (ja) (ここの, koko-no)
• Latin: indīviduālis
• Maori: takitahi
• Mari:

  Eastern Mari: шке (ške)

• Norman: îndividuel (Jersey)
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: enkelt (no), individuell

• Old English: ānlīepe
• Polish: indywidualny (pl), oddzielny (pl), pojedynczy (pl)
• Portuguese: individual (pt)
• Romanian: individual (ro)
• Russian: отде́льный (ru) (otdélʹnyj), индивидуа́льный (ru) (individuálʹnyj), едини́чный (ru) (jediníčnyj), ча́стный (ru) (částnyj)
• Scottish Gaelic: air leth
• Spanish: individual (es)
• Swedish: enskild (sv)
• Turkish: bireysel (tr)
• Ukrainian: особи́стий (osobýstyj), індивідуа́льний (indyviduálʹnyj), осі́бний (osíbnyj)

intended for a single person

• Azerbaijani: bir nəfərlik, bir nəfər üçün nəzərdə tutulmuş
• Bulgarian: личен (bg) (ličen)
• Catalan: individual (ca)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 個別 / 个别 (zh) (gèbié)

• Czech: individuální (cs)
• Dutch: individueel (nl)
• Finnish: yksilöllinen (fi)
• Galician: individual (gl)
• German: individuell (de)
• Hungarian: egyéni (hu)
• Italian: individuale (it), personale (it)
• Latin: proprius (la)
• Mari:

  Eastern Mari: шке (ške)

• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: individuell

• Polish: indywidualny (pl)
• Portuguese: individual (pt)
• Romanian: individual (ro)
• Russian: индивидуа́льный (ru) (individuálʹnyj), персона́льный (ru) (personálʹnyj), ли́чный (ru) (líčnyj), ча́стный (ru) (částnyj)
• Scottish Gaelic: air leth
• Spanish: individual (es)
• Swedish: individuell (sv)

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

• French: ^{(please verify)} individuel (fr) m, ^{(please verify)} individuelle (fr) f
• German: ^{(please verify)} Einzel-
• Hebrew: ^{(please verify)} פרטי (p"rati)
• Irish: ^{(please verify)} aonánach
• Japanese: ^{(please verify)} 個人 (ja) (こじん, kojin)
• Slovene: ^{(please verify)} posamezen
• Swedish: ^{(please verify)} individuell (sv), ^{(please verify)} enskild (sv)
• Telugu: ^{(please verify)} వ్యక్తిగత (vyaktigata), ^{(please verify)} వైయక్తిక (vaiyaktika)

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

• IPA^(key): (Central) [in.di.βi.ðuˈal]
• IPA^(key): (Balearic, Valencia) [in.di.vi.ðuˈal]

Adjective

individual m or f (masculine and feminine plural individuals)

1. individual

Derived terms

• individualisme
• individualista
• individualitzar
• individualment

Related terms

• individu
• individualitat

Further reading

• “individual” in Diccionari de la llengua catalana, segona edició, Institut d’Estudis Catalans.

Galician

Adjective

individual m or f (plural individuais)

1. individual

Derived terms

• individualismo
• individualista
• individualizar
• individualmente

Related terms

• individuo
• individualidade

Further reading

• “individual”, in Dicionario da Real Academia Galega (in Galician), A Coruña: Royal Galician Academy, 2012–2024

Portuguese

Etymology

From indivíduo +‎ -al.

Pronunciation

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /ĩ.d͡ʒi.vi.duˈaw/ [ĩ.d͡ʒi.vi.dʊˈaʊ̯], (faster pronunciation) /ĩ.d͡ʒi.viˈdwaw/ [ĩ.d͡ʒi.viˈdwaʊ̯]

 

• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /ĩ.di.viˈdwal/ [ĩ.di.viˈðwaɫ]

• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /ĩ.di.viˈdwal/ [ĩ.di.viˈðwaɫ]
  • (Northern Portugal) IPA^(key): /ĩ.di.biˈdwal/ [ĩ.di.βiˈðwaɫ]
  • (Southern Portugal) IPA^(key): /ĩ.di.viˈdwa.li/ [ĩ.di.viˈðwa.li]

• Rhymes: (Portugal) -al, (Brazil) -aw
• Hyphenation: in‧di‧vi‧du‧al

Adjective

individual m or f (plural individuais)

1. individual

Derived terms

• individualismo
• individualista
• individualmente

Related terms

• indivíduo

Further reading

• “individual”, in Dicionário Priberam da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), Lisbon: Priberam, 2008–2024

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)

1. individual

Declension

		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

• individualism
• individualist
• individualitate

Spanish

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /indibiˈdwal/ [ĩn̪.d̪i.β̞iˈð̞wal]
• Rhymes: -al
• Syllabification: in‧di‧vi‧dual

Adjective

individual m or f (masculine and feminine plural individuales)

1. individual
2. case-by-case
3. one-on-one (e.g., relationship or bond)
4. one-man (e.g., a one-man show)
5. personal, individualized

Derived terms

• cama individual
• individualismo
• individualista
• individualizar
• individualmente
• persecución individual
• trineo individual

 

Related terms

• individualidad
• individuo

 

Noun

individual m (plural individuales)

1. place mat

   Synonym: salvamanteles

Further reading

• “individual”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 2024 December 10