individu

Forms

individu m (plural individus)^[1] Middle French individue.^[2][3]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Latin individuum (“that which is indivisible, an individual, atom”),^{[2][4][5][6][1]} the neuter used as a noun of individuus (“indivisible, undivided”), from in- (“not”) and dīviduus (“divisible, divided”), from dīvidō (“to divide”).^[4][5][7] In Classical Latin Cicero used the noun to translate the Greek word for “atom”, and in medieval scholastic Latin it named a single object as opposed to a genus or species.^[4][5][3] It is related to diviser.^[4][5]

Earliest recorded meaning

The TLFi and the DHLF date it to 1377, in Lanfranc's Chirurgie (known from a 16th-century manuscript): Les complexions particulieres sont infinites selonc le individue “particular constitutions are endless, according to the individual”.^[2][4][3] The Petit Robert gives 1242, and the GLLF the middle of the 13th century.^[8][7]

Semantic evolution

It first meant any being that forms a distinct unit, as opposed to a genus or species, and Rabelais (1546) uses son individu for “one's own person”.^[2][4] An adjective individu “indivisible” (1486) has disappeared.^[2][4] In 1611 Cotgrave gives the physical sense “atom”, which follows the Latin.^[2][4]

From the 17th century it meant a member of the human species (Richelet, 1680), and in biology a living body that cannot be divided without being destroyed (1738).^[2][4] Rousseau used it in 1755 for a member of a human community, the sense that made a learned word an everyday one.^[2][4] Since Robespierre's l'individu royal (1791) it has also been used, often disparagingly, for some person one does not want to name.^[2][4]

Timeline

• 1377 – Individue appears in Lanfranc's Chirurgie.^[2][4]
• 1486 – The adjective individu “indivisible” is recorded.^[2]
• 1546 – Rabelais uses it for a distinct being and son individu for oneself.^[2]
• 1611 – Cotgrave records the sense “atom”.^[2]
• 1680 – Richelet uses it of a human being.^[2]
• 1738 – It enters biology.^[2][4]
• 1755 – Rousseau uses it for a member of a community.^[2][4]
• 1791 – Robespierre uses it disparagingly.^[2][4]

Meanings

Noun

1. (science) Any being that forms a distinct unit within a classification; in statistics, a member of a population.^[8][2]
2. (biology) An organism living a life of its own, which cannot be divided without being destroyed.^[8][2]
3. A human being regarded as a single unit, as against the society or group: Les droits de l'individu.^[2][4][7]
4. (often pejorative) A person, especially one whose name is not known or not given: Un individu louche rôdait près de la gare.^[2][4][7]

Related words

• individuel
• diviser
• Latin individuum

Usage notes

In the sense “some person” it is not used in the singular of a woman.^[4]

References

1. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u Trésor de la langue française informatisé (2004), ATILF – CNRS & Université de Lorraine, atilf.fr/tlfi; electronic version of Imbs, Paul; Quemada, Bernard, eds. (1971–1994), Trésor de la langue française, Paris: CNRS / Gallimard
3. ^ a b c Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
5. ^ a b c d Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
6. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 4, 649a
7. ^ a b c d Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
8. ^ a b c Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert