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Webster 1913 Edition

Personal

Per′son-al

(pẽr′sŭn-al)
,
Adj.
[L.
personalis
: cf. F.
personnel
.]
1.
Pertaining to human beings as distinct from things.
Every man so termed by way of
personal
difference.
Hooker.
2.
Of or pertaining to a particular person; relating to, or affecting, an individual, or each of many individuals; peculiar or proper to private concerns; not public or general;
as,
personal
comfort;
personal
desire.
The words are conditional, – If thou doest well, – and so
personal
to Cain.
Locke.
3.
Pertaining to the external or bodily appearance; corporeal;
as,
personal
charms
.
Addison.
4.
Done in person; without the intervention of another.
“Personal communication.”
Fabyan.
The immediate and
personal
speaking of God.
White.
5.
Relating to an individual, his character, conduct, motives, or private affairs, in an invidious and offensive manner;
as,
personal
reflections or remarks
.
6.
(Gram.)
Denoting person;
as, a
personal
pronoun
.
Personal action
(Law)
,
a suit or action by which a man claims a debt or personal duty, or damages in lieu of it; or wherein he claims satisfaction in damages for an injury to his person or property, or the specific recovery of goods or chattels; – opposed to real action.
–
Personal equation
.
(Astron.)
See under
Equation
.
–
Personal estate
or
Personal property
(Law)
,
movables; chattels; – opposed to
real estate
or
real property
. It usually consists of things temporary and movable, including all subjects of property not of a freehold nature.
–
Personal identity
(Metaph.)
,
the persistent and continuous unity of the individual person, which is attested by consciousness.
–
Personal pronoun
(Gram.)
,
one of the pronouns
I
,
thou
,
he
,
she
,
it
, and their plurals.
–
Personal representatives
(Law)
,
the executors or administrators of a person deceased.
–
Personal rights
,
rights appertaining to the person;
as, the rights of a
personal
security,
personal
liberty, and private property
.
–
Personal tithes
.
See under
Tithe
.
–
Personal verb
(Gram.)
,
a verb which is modified or inflected to correspond with the three persons.

Per′son-al

,
Noun.
(Law)
A movable; a chattel.

Webster 1828 Edition

Personal

PER'SONAL

,
Adj.
[L. personalis.] Belonging to men or women, not to things; not real.
Every man so termed by way of personal difference only.
1.
Relating to an individual; affecting individuals; peculiar or proper to him or her, or to private actions or character.
The words are conditional; if thou doest well; and so personal to Cain.
Character and success depend more on personal effort than on any external advantages.
So we speak of personal pride, personal reflections.
2.
Pertaining to the corporal nature; exterior; corporal; as personal charms or accomplishments.
3.
Present in person; not acting by representative; as a personal interview.
The immediate and personal speaking of God almighty to Abraham, Job and Moses.
Personal estate, in law, movables; chattels; things belonging to the person; as money, jewels, furniture, &c. as distinguished from real estate in land and houses.
Personal action, in law, a suit or action by which a man claims a debt or personal duty, or damages in lieu of it; or wherein he claims satisfaction in damages for an injury to his person or property; an action founded on contract or on tort or wrong; as an action on a debt or promise, or an action for a trespass, assault or defamatory words; opposed to real actions, or such as concern real property.
Personal identity, in metaphysics, sameness of being, of which consciousness is the evidence.
Personal verb, in grammar, a verb conjugated in the three persons; thus called in distinction from an impersonal verb, which has the third person only.

PER'SONAL

,
Noun.
A movable. [Not in use.]

Definition 2024

Personal

Personal

See also: personal and personál

German

Noun

Personal n ‎(genitive Personals, no plural)

  1. staff, personnel, employees
    • 2010, Der Spiegel, issue 46/2010, page 96:
      Fachkräftemangel ist kein düsteres Zukunftsszenario mehr. Vor allem in Ostdeutschland ringen Firmen schon heute um Personal.
      A lack of skilled workers is no longer a dark future scenario. Primarily in eastern Germany, companies are struggling for employees already today.

Declension

Synonyms

Derived terms

personal

personal

See also: Personal and personál

English

Alternative forms

Adjective

personal ‎(comparative more personal, superlative most personal)

  1. Pertaining to human beings as distinct from things.
  2. Of or pertaining to a particular person; relating to, or affecting, an individual, or each of many individuals; peculiar or proper to private concerns; not public or general
    personal question;   personal desire‎
    Her song was her personal look at the values of friendship.‎
    You can't read my diary - it is personal.‎
  3. Pertaining to the external or bodily appearance; corporeal.
    personal charms‎
    • 1922, Ben Travers, chapter 5, in A Cuckoo in the Nest:
      The most rapid and most seductive transition in all human nature is that which attends the palliation of a ravenous appetite. […] Can those harmless but refined fellow-diners be the selfish cads whose gluttony and personal appearance so raised your contemptuous wrath on your arrival?
  4. Done in person; without the intervention of another.
    a personal interview;   personal settings‎
    • White
      This immediate and personal speaking of God Almighty to Abraham, Job and Moses, […]
  5. Relating to an individual, his character, conduct, motives, or private affairs, in an invidious and offensive manner; as, personal reflections or remarks.
  6. (grammar) Denoting a person.
    a personal pronoun‎

Usage notes

Not to be confused with personnel ‎(“employees, staff”).

Synonyms

Derived terms

Related terms

Translations

External links

  • personal in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913

Noun

personal ‎(plural personals)

  1. An advertisement by which individuals attempt to meet others with similar interests.
  2. A movable; a chattel.

Translations

Statistics

Most common English words before 1923: laughed · opportunity · lines · #793: personal · due · Henry · society

Anagrams

Catalan

Adjective

personal m, f ‎(masculine and feminine plural personals)

  1. personal

Ladin

Adjective

personal m (feminine singular personala, masculine plural personai, feminine plural personales)

  1. personal

Spanish

Etymology

From Latin personalis.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /peɾsoˈnal/

Adjective

personal m, f ‎(plural personales)

  1. personal

Noun

personal m ‎(plural personales)

  1. personnel

Swedish

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): [pɛʂʊnˈɑːl]

Noun

personal c

  1. staff (employees of a business)

Etymology

From Medieval Latin personale.

Pronunciation

  • Rhymes: -aːl

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