Particular (meaning)

The adjective (and occasional noun) particular, and its adverb particularly, present various problems of precise meaning. (There is also sometimes confusion between this word and 'peculiar[ly]': see Particular - peculiar, and, on peculiar, see also peculiar (meaning). You may also want to see particular - particulate for another confusion that has been made) What follows are some general notes on the current meanings of the adjective particular and (less commonly) the noun. For more, consult a good dictionary, particularly OED.

• In its earliest uses, particular was used to mean 'to do with a part [of something]'. This is best expressed in Present-day English by partial, or such phrases as in part, although it still bears this meaning in certain technical applications in prosody, Law, Mathematics, Philosophy, Theology etc.
• The extension of this meaning into 'one', 'individual', 'a specific example [of a wider phenomenon]' gives the adjective its predominant current sense.
• Sometimes it is used to mean 'one's own', 'a personal [possession, characteristic, thought, opinion etc]'.
  • This can be seen in the phrase particular to [an individual, a group, an office, a region, etc]'
  • - and extended to 'private', 'confidential', 'restricted'.
• Particular can also mean 'special', 'remarkable', 'noteworthy'.
  • This can shade into 'a particular friend', meaning 'close', 'familiar' or even 'intimate', this giving rise to an archaic euphemism for '[sexual] lover', 'partner'.
• A different emphasis comes with the meanings 'precise', 'careful', and its special application 'precise', 'fussy', 'fastidious'.

The noun 'a particular' has the basic sense of 'a detail', 'a single item','one point [of a larger whole]'.

• The plural form particulars can be used to mean
  • 'all the details [e.g. of a narrative];
  • technical instructions down to the last detail, as in instructions to install a device;
  • information required by such officials as police officers seeking full and accurate identification - name, address, and so on.
• A London particular was a name for the thick fog or smog that was seen as special to the city of London in the days of coal fires in every house, a 'pea-souper'. The term appears to have been invented in this sense by Dickens; previously it was applied (by Sir Walter Scott among others) to a type of Madeira wine.

Dickens also, it may be noted, as well as many other authors, used the spelling partickler to represent the colloquial speech of his less educated characters. Academics should be careful to enunciate all four syllables: 'par-TICK-you-lar', IPA: /pə^r (or ɑː) ˈtɪk jʊ (or ə)l ə^r/.