personality

English

Etymology

Coined between 1350 and 1400 from Middle English personalite, from Middle French, from Late Latin persōnālitās.

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ˌpɜrsəˈnælɪti/

Noun

personality (plural personalities)

1. A set of qualities that make a person (or thing) distinct from another.
   • Coleridge

     Personality is individuality existing in itself, but with a nature as a ground.

   The president has a unique personality.

2. An assumed role or manner of behavior.

   My work PC emulates a Windows personality.

   In his final act, the comedian takes on a child's personality.

3. A celebrity.

   Johnny Carson was a respected television personality.

4. Charisma, or qualities that make a person stand out from the crowd.

   The best contestant shows most personality.

   • 1959, Lloyd Price, “Personality”:

     But over and over / I´ll be a fool for you / 'cause you got personality.

5. Something said or written which refers to the person, conduct, etc., of some individual, especially something of a disparaging or offensive nature; personal remarks.

   • indulgence in personalities

   • Macaulay

     Sharp personalities were exchanged.

   • 1905, O. Henry, Telemachus, Friend

     Perceiving that personalities were not out of order, I asked him what species of beast had long ago twisted and mutilated his left ear.

6. (law) That quality of a law which concerns the condition, state, and capacity of persons.

   (Can we find and add a quotation of Burrill to this entry?)

Synonyms

• selfness

Derived terms

• addictive personality
• borderline personality disorder
• multiple personalities
• subpersonality

Translations

set of qualities that make a person distinct from other people

• Arabic: شخصية (ar) (shakhSíya) f
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 性格 (cmn) (xìnggé), 個性 (cmn), 个性 (cmn) (gèxìng)

• Czech: osobnost (cs) f
• Danish: personlighed c
• Dutch: persoonlijkheid (nl) f
• Finnish: persoonallisuus (fi)
• French: personnalité (fr) f
• German: Persönlichkeit (de) f
• Greek: προσωπικότητα (el) (prosopikótita) f
• Hindi: व्यक्तित्व (hi) (vyaktitv) m
• Hungarian: egyéniség (hu)
• Irish: tréithe pearsanta (ga) f pl

• Italian: personalità (it) f
• Japanese: 人格 (ja) (じんかく, jinkaku)
• Korean: 인격 (ko) (ingyeok) (人格 (ko))
• Maori: tuakiri (mi)
• Portuguese: personalidade (pt) f
• Romanian: personalitate (ro) f
• Russian: личность (ru) (líčnost’) f, индивидуальность (ru) (individuál'nost') f
• Scottish Gaelic: pearsantachd (gd) f
• Slovene: osébnost (sl) f
• Spanish: personalidad (es) f
• Swedish: personlighet (sv) c
• Vietnamese: tính cách (vi) (性格 (vi))

assumed role or manner of behavior

• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 性氣 (cmn), 性气 (cmn) (xìngqì)

• Czech: osobnost (cs) f
• Danish: skikkelse c
• Finnish: luonne (fi)
• Greek: προσωπικότητα (el) (prosopikótita) f

• Hungarian: személyiség (hu)
• Romanian: personalitate (ro) f
• Russian: личность (ru) (líčnost’) f
• Scottish Gaelic: pearsantachd (gd) f
• Slovene: osébnost (sl) f

celebrity

• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 名人 (cmn) (míngrén)

• Czech: osobnost (cs) f
• Danish: personlighed c
• Finnish: henkilö (fi)

• German: Persönlichkeit (de) f
• Greek: προσωπικότητα (el) (prosopikótita) f
• Hungarian: személyiség (hu)
• Romanian: personalitate (ro) f
• Russian: личность (ru) (líčnost’) f, особа (ru) (osóba) f

charisma

• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 豐韻 (cmn) (fēngyùn), 丰韵 (cmn) (fēngyùn)

• Czech: osobnost (cs) f
• Danish: personlighed c, karisma c
• Finnish: persoonallisuus (fi)

• Greek: προσωπικότητα (el) (prosopikótita) f
• Hungarian: karizma (hu)
• Russian: личные качества (ru) (líčnyje káčestva) n pl, харизма (ru) (xarízma) f

something said or written which refers to the person of some individual

• Finnish: · henkilökohtaisuus (fi)

law: quality of law

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables, removing any numbers. Numbers do not necessarily match those in definitions. See instructions at Help:How to check translations.

Translations to be checked

• Dutch: persoonlijkheid
• Telugu: వ్యక్తిత్వము (vyaktitvamu)
• Indonesian: kepribadian

Anagrams

• antileprosy