Individual
late Middle English (in the sense ‘indivisible’): from medieval Latin individualis, from Latin individuus, from in- ‘not’ + dividuus ‘divisible’ (from dividere ‘to divide’).
wiktionary
From Medieval Latin indīviduālis, from Latin indīviduum(“an indivisible thing”), neuter of indīviduus(“indivisible, undivided”), from in + dīviduus(“divisible”), from dīvidō(“divide”).
etymonline
individual (adj.)
early 15c., "one and indivisible, inseparable" (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 (v.)). Original sense now obsolete; the word was not common before c. 1600 and the 15c. example might be an outlier. Sense of "single, separate, of but one person or thing" is from 1610s; meaning "intended for one person" is from 1889.
Individual views a person as standing alone, or persons as standing separately before the mind: as, the rights of the individual; the rights of individuals: it is incorrect to use individual for person unemphatically ; as, there were several individuals in the room. [Century Dictionary]
individual (n.)
"single object or thing," c. 1600, from individual (adj.). Meaning "a single human being" (as opposed to a group, etc.) is from 1640s. Colloquial sense of "person" is attested from 1742. Latin individuum as a noun meant "an atom, indivisible particle," and in Middle English individuum was used in sense of "individual member of a species" (early 15c.).
