character

English Online Dictionary. What means character‎? What does character mean?

English

Etymology

From Middle English caracter, from Old French caractere, from Latin character, from Ancient Greek χαρακτήρ (kharaktḗr, “type, nature, character”), from χαράσσω (kharássō, “I engrave”). Doublet of charakter.

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈkæɹɪktə/
• (General American)
  • (without the Mary–marry–merry merger) IPA^(key): /ˈkæɹ(ə)ktɚ/
  • (Mary–marry–merry merger) IPA^(key): /ˈkɛɹ(ə)ktɚ/
• (Indic) IPA^(key): /ˈkʰærekta(r)/
• Hyphenation: char‧ac‧ter, cha‧rac‧ter

Noun

character (countable and uncountable, plural characters)

2. (countable) A being involved in the action of a story; a persona.
4. (countable) A distinguishing feature; characteristic; trait; nature; phene.

5. (uncountable, countable) A complex of traits marking a person, group, breed, or type.
6. (uncountable) Strength of mind; resolution; independence; individuality; moral strength.
7. (countable) A unique or extraordinary individual; a person characterized by peculiar or notable traits, especially charisma.
9. (countable) A written or printed symbol, or letter.
10. (countable, dated) Style of writing or printing; handwriting; the particular form of letters used by a person or people.
11. (countable, dated) A secret cipher; a way of writing in code.
12. (countable, computing) One of the basic elements making up a text file or string: a code representing a printing character or a control character.
13. (countable, informal) A person or individual, especially one who is unknown.

14. (countable, mathematics) An assignment of complex numbers to each element of a group, in particular a finite abelian group.
15. (countable) Quality, position, rank, or capacity; quality or conduct with respect to a certain office or duty.

16. (countable, dated) The estimate, individual or general, put upon a person or thing; reputation.
17. (countable, dated) A reference given to a servant, attesting to their behaviour, competence, etc.
18. (countable, obsolete) Personal appearance.

Usage notes

• Character is sometimes used interchangeably with reputation, but the two words have different meanings; character describes the distinctive qualities of an individual or group while reputation describes the opinions held by others regarding an individual or group. Character is internal and authentic, while reputation is external and perceived.

Hyponyms

Derived terms

English terms starting with “character”

Descendants

• → Scottish Gaelic: caractar

Translations

Verb

character (third-person singular simple present characters, present participle charactering, simple past and past participle charactered)

1. (obsolete) To write (using characters); to describe.

See also

• codepoint
• font
• glyph
• letter
• symbol
• rune
• pictogram

Latin

Etymology

From the Ancient Greek χαρακτήρ (kharaktḗr).

Pronunciation

• (Classical Latin) IPA^(key): /kʰaˈrak.teːr/, [kʰäˈräkt̪eːr]
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /kaˈrak.ter/, [käˈräkt̪er]

Noun

charactēr m (genitive charactēris); third declension

1. branding iron
2. brand (made by a branding iron)
3. characteristic, mark, character, style

   Synonyms: ingenium, nātūra, habitus, mēns, indolēs

Declension

Third-declension noun.

Descendants

• Asturian: caráuter
• Hungarian: karakter
• Galician: caritel; → carácter
• → Old Irish: carachtar, caractar, cáractar, cárachtar
  • Irish: carachtar
• Italian: carattere
• → Old Czech: charakter (learned)
  • Czech: charakter
• Old French: caractere
  • → English: character
    • → Scottish Gaelic: caractar
  • French: caractère
    • → Romanian: caracter
    • → Turkish: karakter
• → Old Slovak: charakter (learned)
  • Slovak: charakter
• → Polish: charakter, harakter, karakter (Middle Polish) (learned)
  • → Kashubian: charakter
  • → Russian: хара́ктер (xarákter)
  • → Silesian: karakter (through Middle Polish "karakter")
• Portuguese: caractere, carácter
• Romanian: caracter
• Sicilian: caràttiri
• Spanish: carácter

References

• “character”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• character in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette.
• character in Ramminger, Johann (2016 July 16 (last accessed)) Neulateinische Wortliste: Ein Wörterbuch des Lateinischen von Petrarca bis 1700‎^[2], pre-publication website, 2005-2016

Portuguese

Noun

character m (plural characteres)

1. Pre-reform spelling (used until 1943 in Brazil and 1911 in Portugal) of caráter.