super-individualadj.n.
/ˌsuːp(ə)rˌɪndᵻˈvɪdʒʊəl/, /ˌsuːp(ə)rˌɪndᵻˈvɪdʒ(ᵿ)l/, /ˌsuːp(ə)rˌɪndᵻˈvɪdjʊəl/, /ˌsuːp(ə)rˌɪndᵻˈvɪdjᵿl/, /ˌsjuːp(ə)rˌɪndᵻˈvɪdʒʊəl/, /ˌsjuːp(ə)rˌɪndᵻˈvɪdʒ(ᵿ)l/, /ˌsjuːp(ə)rˌɪndᵻˈvɪdjʊəl/, /ˌsjuːp(ə)rˌɪndᵻˈvɪdjᵿl/, U.S. /ˌsupərˌɪndəˈvɪdʒ(ə)wəl/, /ˌsupərˌɪndəˈvɪdʒ(ə)l/ A. adj.
Chiefly Philosophy and Psychology. Above or greater than the individual. Also: more than is normal or usual for any individual.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > kind or sort > generality > [adjective] > general or in common to various things > not peculiar to an individual
unpropera1616
improper1629
unpersonal1657
super-individuala1834
suprapersonal1873
transindividual1881
super-individualistic1893
super-individualist1934
a1834 S. T. Coleridge Compl. Wks. (1884) V. 563 Now the reason has been shown to be super-individual, generally, and therefore not less so when the form of an individualization subsists in the alter, than when it is confined to the idem.
1880 Mind 5 6 All manifoldness of experience is..ultimately referred to the absolute, super-individual consciousness.
1916 F. von Hügel German Soul 92 The moral relation between the individual and the super-individual unity.
1936 J. R. Kantor Objective Psychol. Gram. iv. 49 Those who would reject psychology from linguistics because linguistic phenomena are superindividual.
1943 Mind 52 342 His [sc. Kant's] phrase Bewusstsein überhaupt, ‘consciousness in general’, though sometimes supposed to stand for a super-individual consciousness, might equally well..be taken to mean a character which all individual consciousnesses have in common.
1997 Leonardo 30 53/2 They captured the lasting character and superindividual beauty of their sitters.
B. n.
A super-individual person or thing; esp. a person who is above or greater than a (normal) individual.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > goodness and badness > quality of being good > quality of being better or superior > [noun] > better or superior person or thing
betterOE
unlikea1300
superior1537
overmatch1590
transcendent1613
go-by1823
outshiner1864
super-individual1911
1911 L. P. Jacks Among Idolmakers iii. 111 The attention of Superindividuals would not be attracted to..their own superiority.
1924 W. B. Selbie Psychol. Relig. 150 The crowd will then act and feel, and express itself together. In doing so it becomes an entity or super-individual.
1983 D. J. Den Uyl Power, State, & Freedom 70 Nonetheless, institutions are not emergent individuals—that is, super-individuals which have arisen out of the larger mass of individuals in society.
2001 Times Educ. Suppl. (Nexis) 31 Aug. 35 Both these teachers were in a research sample chosen for their commitment to change, having coped with it effectively, but were not super-individuals.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2012; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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adj.n.a1834