character

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See also: charácter

English

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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”).

Pronunciation

Noun

character (countable and uncountable, plural characters)

  1. (countable) A being involved in the action of a story.
    • 1898, Winston Churchill, chapter 1, in The Celebrity:
      The stories did not seem to me to touch life. […] They left me with the impression of a well-delivered stereopticon lecture, with characters about as life-like as the shadows on the screen, and whisking on and off, at the mercy of the operator.
    • 2012 April 26, Tasha Robinson, “Film: Reviews: The Pirates! Band Of Misfits”, in The Onion AV Club:
      But Pirates! comes with all the usual Aardman strengths intact, particularly the sense that its characters and creators alike are too good-hearted and sweet to nitpick. The ambition is all in the craft rather than in the storytelling, but it’s hard to say no to the proficiency of that craft, or the mild good cheer behind it.
  2. (countable) A distinguishing feature; characteristic; trait; phene.
    A single locus governing the petal colour character was detected on the linkage group A2.
  3. (uncountable, countable) A complex of traits marking a person, group, breed, or type.
    • (Can we date this quote by Motley and provide title, author’s full name, and other details?)
      A man of […] thoroughly subservient character
    • 1898, Winston Churchill, chapter 3, in The Celebrity:
      Now all this was very fine, but not at all in keeping with the Celebrity's character as I had come to conceive it. The idea that adulation ever cloyed on him was ludicrous in itself. In fact I thought the whole story fishy, and came very near to saying so.
    A study of the suspect's character and his cast iron alibi ruled him out.
  4. (uncountable) Strength of mind; resolution; independence; individuality; moral strength.
    He has a great deal of character.
    "You may not like to eat liver," said Calvin's father, "but it builds character."
  5. (countable) A unique or extraordinary individual; a person characterized by peculiar or notable traits, especially charisma.
    Julius Caesar is a great historical character.
    That bloke is such a character.
  6. (countable) A written or printed symbol, or letter.
    • (Can we date this quote by Holder and provide title, author’s full name, and other details?)
      It were much to be wished that there were throughout the world but one sort of character for each letter to express it to the eye.
  7. (countable, dated) Style of writing or printing; handwriting; the particular form of letters used by a person or people.
    an inscription in the Runic character
    • (Can we date this quote by Shakespeare and provide title, author’s full name, and other details?)
      You know the character to be your brother's?
  8. (countable, dated) A secret cipher; a way of writing in code.
  9. (countable, computing) One of the basic elements making up a text file or string: a code representing a printing character or a control character.
  10. (countable, informal) A person or individual, especially one who is unknown or raises suspicions.
    We saw a shady character slinking out of the office with some papers.
    That old guy is a real character.
  11. (countable, mathematics) A complex number representing an element of a finite Abelian group.
  12. (countable) Quality, position, rank, or capacity; quality or conduct with respect to a certain office or duty.
    in the miserable character of a slave
    in his character as a magistrate
  13. (countable, dated) The estimate, individual or general, put upon a person or thing; reputation.
    a man's character for truth and veracity
    Her actions give her a bad character.
    • (Can we date this quote by Addison and provide title, author’s full name, and other details?)
      This subterraneous passage is much mended since Seneca gave so bad a character of it.
  14. (countable, dated) A reference given to a servant, attesting to his/her behaviour, competence, etc.
  15. (countable, obsolete) Personal appearance.

Usage notes

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A comparison of character and reputation: It would be well if character and reputation were used distinctively. In truth, character is what a person is; reputation is what he is supposed to be. Character is in himself, reputation is in the minds of others. Character is injured by temptations, and by wrongdoing; reputation by slanders, and libels. Character endures throughout defamation in every form, but perishes when there is a voluntary transgression; reputation may last through numerous transgressions, but be destroyed by a single, and even an unfounded, accusation or aspersion.

Hyponyms

Derived terms

Related terms

Pages starting with “character”.

Translations

being in a story
(computing) basic element in a text string
The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § 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.
    • Template:RQ:Shakespeare Like, [Act II, scene vii]:
      O Roſalind, theſe Trees ſhall be my Bookes, / And in their barkes my thoughts Ile charracter, / That euery eye, which in this Forreſt lookes, / Shall ſee thy vertue witneſt euery where.

See also

Latin

Etymology

From the Ancient Greek χαρακτήρ (kharaktḗr).

Pronunciation

Noun

character m (genitive charactēris); third declension

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

Declension

Third-declension noun.

Case Singular Plural
Nominative character charactērēs
Genitive charactēris charactērum
Dative charactērī charactēribus
Accusative charactērem charactērēs
Ablative charactēre charactēribus
Vocative character charactērēs

Descendants

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[1], pre-publication website, 2005-2016

Portuguese

Noun

character m (plural es)

  1. Template:pt-obsolete-hellenism
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