adj.1 one's own; individual; private.
2 done or made in person (made a personal appearance; my personal attention).
3 directed to or concerning an individual (a personal letter).
4 referring (esp. in a hostile way) to an individual's private life or concerns (making personal remarks; no need to be personal).
5 of the body and clothing (personal hygiene; personal appearance).
6 existing as a person, not as an abstraction or thing (a personal God).
7 Gram. of or denoting one of the three persons (personal pronoun).
Phrases and idioms:
personal column the part of a newspaper devoted to private advertisements or messages. personal computer a computer designed for use by a single individual, esp. in an office or business environment . personal equation
1. the allowance for an individual person's time of reaction in making observations, esp. in astronomy.
2 a bias or prejudice. personal equity plan a scheme for limited personal investment in shares, unit trusts, etc. personal identification number a number allocated to an individual, serving as a password esp. for a cash dispenser, computer, etc. personal pronoun a pronoun replacing the subject, object, etc., of a clause etc., e.g. I, we, you, them, us. personal property (or estate) Law all one's property except land and those interests in land that pass to one's heirs (cf. REAL(1) adj. 3). personal service individual service given to a customer. personal stereo a small portable audio cassette player, often with radio, or compact disc player, used with lightweight headphones. personal touch a way of treating a matter characteristic of or designed for an individual.
Etymology: ME f. OF f. L personalis (as PERSON)