individualとは

語源

From Medieval Latin indīviduālis, from Latin individuum (“an indivisible thing”), neuter of individuus (“indivisible, undivided”), from in + dividuus (“divisible”), from divido (“divide”).

発音

• (Received 発音) IPA^(key): /ˌɪndɪˈvɪd͡ʒʊəl/

名詞

individual (複数形 individuals)

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

   He is an unusual individual.

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^[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.

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

形容詞

individual (comparative more individual, superlative most individual)

1. Relating to a single person or thing as opposed to more than 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.

   As we can't print them all together, the individual pages will have to be printed one by one.

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.

同意語

• (relating to a single person または thing): single, selfstanding
• (intended for a single person または thing): personal, single

反意語

• (relating to a single person または thing): collective
• (intended for a single person または thing): group, joint, shared

関連する語

Further reading

• individual in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913
• individual in The Century Dictionary, The Century Co., New York, 1911
• "individual" in Raymond Williams, Keywords (revised), 1983, Fontana Press, page 161.