- personal (adj.)
- late 14c., "pertaining to the self," from O.Fr. personel (12c., Fr. personnel), from L. personalis "pertaining to a person," from persona (see person). Meaning "aimed at some particular person" (usually in a hostile manner) first attested 1610s. The noun sense of "newspaper item about private matters" is attested from 1888. As "a classified ad addressed to an individual," it is recorded from 1861. Personal computer is from 1976.