English
individual
Individual comes from Medieval Latin indīviduālis ‘indivisible’, from Latin dīviduus ‘divisible’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₁weydʰh₁- ‘to divide’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₁weydʰh₁-1‘to divide’reconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*wiðō1reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CE*vidō1‘to separate’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEdīvidō2‘divide’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEdīviduus2‘divisible’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEindīviduus2‘indivisible’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEindīviduum2‘an indivisible thing’neuter of indīviduus
- Medieval Latinc. 600–1500indīviduālis2‘indivisible’
- Englishearliest quotation 1982individual2
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
- 1 Wiktionary, Latin divido
- 2 Wiktionary, English individual
- Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1982, Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms:: “Every individual is equal before and under the law…”.
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₁weydʰh₁-Wiktionary, Latin divido‘to divide’reconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*wiðōWiktionary, Latin dividoreconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CE*vidōWiktionary, Latin divido‘to separate’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEdīvidōWiktionary, English individual‘divide’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEdīviduusWiktionary, English individual‘divisible’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEindīviduusWiktionary, English individual‘indivisible’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEindīviduumWiktionary, English individual‘an indivisible thing’neuter of indīviduus
- Medieval Latinc. 600–1500indīviduālisWiktionary, English individual‘indivisible’
- Englishearliest quotation 1982individualWiktionary, English individual. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1982, Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms:: “Every individual is equal before and under the law…”
Word family
English words that share an ancestor with individual, grouped by the ancestor they share, most familiar first.
through Proto-Indo-European *h₁weydʰh₁- ‘to divide’
through Latin *vidō ‘to separate’
- dividend ← dividende ← dīvidendum ← dīvidō
through Latin dīvidō ‘divide’
24 more relatives in the full family tree
No ads, ever.
Explore everything descended from *h₁weydʰh₁- →
No ads, ever. This is how the app stays alive.
Become a founding member, $29 onceWear this word, $32Support the app
Today it means
noun A person considered alone, rather than as belonging to a group of people.
Sources
Sources: Wiktionary, “individual”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Latin divido. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *h₁weydʰh₁- / individual