Individuality

Part of speech: noun

Pronunciation: /ˌɪndɪvɪd͡ʒuˈælɪti/

Definitions

1. The quality or character that distinguishes one person or thing from others and makes them unique
2. The state of being distinct or separate within a group, highlighting the unique features that define a person or concept
3. A characteristic that sets someone or something apart from others, emphasizing uniqueness and personal traits

Etymology: "Individuality" is simply "individual" with the suffix "-ity" added, and that suffix carries a long ancestry. It descends from the Latin "-itas", which turned adjectives into nouns of quality, and it reached English by way of Old French and Middle English as "-ite" before settling into the form "-ity". The same suffix sits behind words like "reality" and "humanity", so the ending was already doing this job in English long before "individuality" appeared. The base word "individual" is the more interesting part. It comes from Latin "individuus", meaning "indivisible", built from "in-" (not) and "dividuus" (divisible). Its original sense was about something that could not be split up without destroying it. Only later did it come to mean a single person set apart from others, and that shift is what makes "individuality" a word about standing apart.

Synonyms: uniqueness, distinctiveness, personality, character, singularity

Antonyms: conformity, uniformity, similarity, sameness, normality