As a noun, this term denotes a single person as distinguished from a group or class, and also, very commonly, a private or natural person as distinguished from a partnership , corporation , or association ; but it is said that this restrictive signi- fication is not necessarily inherent in tbe word, and that it may, in proper cases, include artificial persons . See Bank of U. S. v. State, 12 Smedes & M. (Miss.) 400; State v. Bell Telephone Co.. 30 Ohio St. 310, 38 Am. Rep. 583; Pennsylvania it. Co. v. Canal Com’rs, 21 Pa. 20. As an adjective, ” individual ” means pertaining or belonging to , or characteristic of, one single person, either in opposition to a firm, association, or corporation, or considered in his relation thereto.
Black’s Law Online Dictionary
