Meaning of the word characters

Noun

… this makes everyone believe not only that anyone can be a parent, but also that everyone ought to do it, even those who seem by character or inclination to be ill equipped.

—Anna Quindlen, Newsweek, 27 Apr. 2009

Someone with Alzheimer’s may undergo a regression to a «second childhood,» but aspects of one’s essential character, of personality and personhood, of self, survive …

—Oliver Sacks, Musicophilia, (2007) 2008

«Beat» is old carny slang. According to Beat Movement legend (and it is a movement with a deep inventory of legend), Ginsberg and Kerouac picked it up from a character named Herbert Huncke, a gay street hustler and drug addict from Chicago who began hanging around Times Square in 1939 …

—Louis Menand, New Yorker, 1 Oct. 2007

Slowly, steadily, Och and Chris passed along their knowledge of the characterof various courses, and the way a race evolves tactically.

—Lance Armstrong, It’s Not About the Bike, (2000) 2001

Her character struck the Swede back then as a compound in which you’d find just about everything toxic to desperation and dread. At the core of her he could imagine a nucleus of confidence plaited just as neatly and tightly as her braided hair.

—Philip Roth, American Pastoral, 1997

the unique character of the town

The building is very simple in character.

Their house has a lot of character.

Verb

formerly charactered as “the dark ages,” that period of history may not have been quite so benighted as once thought

Recent Examples on the Web

Her character is the governor of Connecticut, and running for the United States Senate.

—Olivia Evans, Women’s Health, 6 Apr. 2023

Putting the character into action demanded everything of Adkins, from his skills to his fitness.

—Brett Williams, Men’s Health, 6 Apr. 2023

But while the plot remains a mystery, the characters give us a bit more insight on where the film could go.

—Erica Gonzales, ELLE, 5 Apr. 2023

More crucially, the good times are grounded in real warmth and compassion toward the young characters.

—Angie Han, The Hollywood Reporter, 5 Apr. 2023

Das offers a close reading of Roe’s journal and fleshes out the character of the man within the context of the sociopolitical forces that shaped him.

—Balaji Ravichandran, Washington Post, 5 Apr. 2023

The discipline had at one point involved children’s music featuring Elmo, the popular Sesame Street character.

—Nolan Clay, USA TODAY, 4 Apr. 2023

Melanie Martinez is bringing the third and final iteration of her signature character Cry Baby — this time, a pink-skinned, four-eyed fairy-like creature that lives between life and death — with her on tour.

—Tomás Mier, Rolling Stone, 3 Apr. 2023

Zoë Winters, the actor behind Logan Roy’s ambitious assistant and his probable hookup, told Variety that her character’s disastrous audition tape from last night’s episode was inspired by Ingraham and Lahren.

—Vulture, 3 Apr. 2023

For over 25 years, Emmy-award winning directors/producers Dan Geller and Dayna Goldfine have jointly created multi-character documentary narratives that use the personal stories of their protagonists to paint a larger portrait of the human experience.

—Alissa Simon, Variety, 3 Sep. 2021

The best shows and movies are often character dramas at heart; even Westworld was in its first season.

—Wired, 9 July 2022

The success of the single has been remarkable for a multi-character theatrical piece.

—Paul Grein, Billboard, 24 Mar. 2022

There’s a lot of inter-character conflicts that didn’t make the cut.

—Scott Mendelson, Forbes, 21 May 2021

Character witnesses for Storm include a parade of foster puppies the Freeleys have taken in over the last month.

—Sarah Maslin Nir, New York Times, 18 July 2017

This results in a wine with a wild and brambly character rather than an oaky style.

—Mike Desimone And Jeff Jenssen, Robb Report, 30 Mar. 2023

From rides, shows and parades to character interactions and dining experiences, fans of all ages can experience their favorite Disney movies in real life.

—Lexie Sachs, Good Housekeeping, 22 Feb. 2023

But to retain its clout and character the liberal order needs restored leadership and difficult reforms.

—The Economist, 18 June 2020

This is a sport whose major victories are accompanied by gauzy paeans to character.

—Zach Helfand, The New Yorker, 17 Oct. 2022

And Lin told the Raptors Show that the curriculum will include everything from shooting hoops to character development and communication.

—Kimmy Yam, NBC News, 16 June 2022

Well, one chief reason: To dramatize the passing of the superhero torch to sisterly character Yelena Belova — a role that Pugh embraced with athletic ferocity and quick comic aplomb.

—Washington Post, 30 Dec. 2021

And without that depth, Spike’s buddy-cop dynamic with his main foil, Jet, does neither character any favors.

—Cecilia D’anastasio, Wired, 19 Nov. 2021

But the brothers hewed to character in their posts, which could not have been more exemplary and different.

—Guy Martin, Forbes, 12 Apr. 2021

See More

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word ‘character.’ Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Источник

English[edit]

Etymology[edit]

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[edit]

(Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈkæɹəktə/
(General American)
- (Mary–marry–merry distinction) IPA^(key): /ˈkæɹ(ə)ktɚ/
- (Mary–marry–merry merger) IPA^(key): /ˈkɛɹ(ə)ktɚ/
Hyphenation: char‧ac‧ter

Noun[edit]

character (countable and uncountable, plural characters)

(countable) A being involved in the action of a story.
- 1695, John Dryden, A Parallel of Poetry and Painting:
  
  [I]n a tragedy, or epick poem, the hero of the piece must be advanced foremost to the view of the reader or spectator; he must outshine the rest of all the characters; he must appear the prince of them, like the sun in the Copernican system, encompassed with the less noble planets …
- 1897 December (indicated as 1898), Winston Churchill, chapter I, in The Celebrity: An Episode, New York, N.Y.: The Macmillan Company; London: Macmillan & Co., Ltd., →OCLC:
  
  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.
(countable) A distinguishing feature; characteristic; trait; phene.

A single locus governing the petal colour character was detected on the linkage group A2.
(uncountable, countable) A complex of traits marking a person, group, breed, or type.
A study of the suspect’s character and his cast iron alibi ruled him out.
(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.»
- 2010, BioWare, Mass Effect 2 (Science Fiction), Redwood City: Electronic Arts, →OCLC, PC, scene: Normandy SR-2:
  
  Shepard: Are you attracted to other species?
  Kelly: Well, part of my job is predicting the motives and feelings of humans and aliens. Intimacy brings understanding.
  Kelly: And passion is nice wherever you find it. Character matters, not race or gender.
(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.
(countable) A written or printed symbol, or letter.
- 1669, William Holder, Elements of Speech: An Essay of Inquiry into the Natural Production of Letters: […], London: […] T. N[ewcomb] for J[ohn] Martyn printer to the R[oyal] Society, […], →OCLC:
  
  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.
(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
- c. 1603–1606, William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of King Lear”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act I, scene ii]:
  
  You know the character to be your brother’s?
(countable, dated) A secret cipher; a way of writing in code.
(countable, computing) One of the basic elements making up a text file or string: a code representing a printing character or a control character.
(countable, informal) A person or individual, especially one who is unknown.

We saw a shady character slinking out of the office with some papers.

That old guy is a real character.
(countable, mathematics) A complex number representing an element of a finite Abelian group.
(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
(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.
- This subterraneous passage is much mended since Seneca gave so bad a character of it.
(countable, dated) A reference given to a servant, attesting to their behaviour, competence, etc.
(countable, obsolete) Personal appearance.

Usage notes[edit]

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[edit]

bell character
cartoon character
Chinese character
control character
delete character
dominant character
escape character
null character
player character
round character
staple character
stock character

Derived terms[edit]

ASA character
base character
big-character poster
box-drawing character
break character
breakout character
build character
carriage control character
character actor
character actress
character amnesia
character assassination
character cell
character class
character density
character disorder
character encoding
character generator
character man
character map
character part
character recognition
character reference
character set
character shoe
character study
character theory
character trait
character user interface
character witness
character-based
character-building
character-forming
characterisation / characterization
characterise / characterize
characteristic
characterless
Chinese character
combining character
Dirichlet character
ghost character
Han character
in character
lead character
main character syndrome
non-player character
non-printable character
optical character recognition
original character
out of character
out-of-character
private-use character
special character
supplementary character
title character

Pages starting with “character”.

Translations[edit]

being in a story

Arabic: شَخْصِيَّة‎ (ar) f (šaḵṣiyya)

Egyptian Arabic: شخصية‎ f (šaḵṣeya), كراكتر‎ m (karaktar)
Armenian: գործող անձ (hy) (gorcoł anj), կերպար (hy) (kerpar)
Asturian: personaxe m
Azerbaijani: personaj, qəhrəman (az)
Belarusian: персана́ж m (pjersanáž), геро́й m (hjerój), гераі́ня f (hjeraínja), дзе́ючая асо́ба f (dzjéjučaja asóba)
Bulgarian: геро́й (bg) m (gerój), де́йстващо лице́ n (déjstvašto licé), персона́ж m (personáž)
Catalan: personatge (ca) m
Chinese:

Mandarin: 人物 (zh) (rénwù), 角色 (zh) (juésè, jiǎosè)
Czech: postava (cs) f
Danish: figur, rolle, person (da), personage c
Dutch: personage (nl) n
Esperanto: rolulo, persono (eo)
Estonian: karakter, tegelane
Finnish: hahmo (fi), henkilöhahmo, henkilö (fi)
French: personnage (fr) m
Galician: personaxe m or f
Georgian: გმირი (gmiri)
German: Figur (de) f, Person (de) f
Greek: χαρακτήρας (el) m (charaktíras)
Hebrew: דְּמוּת‎ (he) f (dmut)
Hindi: पात्र (hi) m (pātr)
Hungarian: szereplő (hu), alak (hu)
Icelandic: persóna (is)
Indonesian: tokoh (id)
Irish: pearsa f, carachtar m
Italian: personaggio (it) m
Japanese: 登場人物 (とうじょうじんぶつ, tōjōjinbutsu), キャラクター (ja) (kyarakutā)
Kazakh: кейіпкер (keiıpker)
Korean: 등장인물(登場人物) (ko) (deungjang’inmul), 캐릭터 (ko) (kaerikteo)
Latgalian: īvaigs
Latvian: tēls
Lithuanian: veikėjas m, veikėja f
Macedonian: лик m (lik)
Malay: tokoh (ms)
Malayalam: കഥാപാത്രം (ml) (kathāpātraṃ)
Maori: kiripuaki
Norwegian: karakter (no)
Old English: hād m
Persian: شخصیت‎ (fa) (šaxsiyat), پرسوناژ‎ (fa) (personâž), کاراکتر‎ (fa) (kârâkter)
Polish: postać (pl) f
Portuguese: personagem (pt) m or f
Romanian: personaj (ro) n
Russian: персона́ж (ru) m (personáž), геро́й (ru) m (gerój), герои́ня (ru) f (geroínja), де́йствующее лицо́ n (déjstvujuščeje licó)
Scots: chairacter
Scottish Gaelic: caractar m
Serbo-Croatian:

Roman: karakter (sh) m, lik (sh) m
Slovak: postava f
Spanish: personaje (es) m
Swedish: rollfigur (sv) c, karaktär (sv) c
Tajik: шахсият (šaxsiyat)
Tamil: பாத்திரம் (ta) (pāttiram)
Thai: ตัวละคร (th) (dtuua-lá-kɔɔn)
Turkish: karakter (tr), kişilik (tr)
Ukrainian: персона́ж (uk) m (personáž), геро́й m (herój), герої́ня f (herojínja), дійова́ осо́ба f (dijová osóba)
Uzbek: personaj (uz), qahramon (uz)
Vietnamese: nhân vật (vi)
Walloon: persounaedje (wa) m
Welsh: cymeriad (cy)
Yiddish: פּערסאָנאַזש‎ m (personazh)

distinguishing feature

Armenian: բնութագիր (hy) (bnutʿagir)
Azerbaijani: xüsusiyyət (az), özəllik
Bulgarian: отличи́тельна черта́ f (otličítelʹna čertá)
Catalan: caràcter (ca) m
Chinese:

Mandarin: 特性 (zh) (tèxìng)
Czech: znak (cs) m
Danish: karakter (da), træk (da), natur (da)
Dutch: karakter (nl) n, persoonlijkheid (nl) f
Esperanto: karaktero (eo)
Finnish: luonne (fi)
French: caractère (fr) m
Galician: carácter m
German: Charakter (de) m
Greek: χαρακτήρας (el) m (charaktíras)

Ancient: χαρακτήρ m (kharaktḗr)
Hebrew: מאפיין מְאַפְיֵן‎ m (me`afyén), תְּכוּנָה‎ (he) f (tkhuná)
Indonesian: karakter (id), ciri-ciri
Irish: carachtar m, nádúr m
Italian: carattere (it) m, caratteristica (it) m
Japanese: 特質 (ja) (とくしつ, tokushitsu)
Korean: 특질(特質) (ko) (teukjil)
Kurdish:

Central Kurdish: باتەک‎ (ckb) (batek)
Latvian: raksturs m
Luxembourgish: Charakter m
Maori: āhua (mi)
Persian: شخصیت‎ (fa) (šaxsiyat), کاراکتر‎ (fa) (kârâkter)
Polish: charakter (pl) m
Portuguese: caráter (pt) m (Brazil), carácter (pt) m (Portugal)
Romanian: caracter (ro) n
Russian: хара́ктер (ru) m (xarákter), отличи́тельная черта́ f (otličítelʹnaja čertá)
Scottish Gaelic: nàdar m
Serbo-Croatian:

Roman: osobina (sh), karakteristika (sh) f
Spanish: característica (es) f, carácter (es) m
Swedish: karaktär (sv) c
Turkish: hususiyet (tr) (dated), özellik (tr)
Vietnamese: đặc điểm (vi)

complex of mental and ethical traits marking a person or a group

Armenian: խառնվածք (hy) (xaṙnvackʿ), բնավորություն (hy) (bnavorutʿyun)
Azerbaijani: qılıq, xasiyyət (az)
Belarusian: хара́ктар (be) m (xaráktar), но́раў m (nóraŭ)
Catalan: tarannà (ca), caràcter (ca)
Finnish: luonteenpiirteet
Greek:

Ancient: ἦθος n (êthos)
Hebrew: אופי אֹפִי‎ (he) m (ófi)
Hindi: स्वभाव (hi) m (svabhāv)
Irish: teacht aniar, spiorad (ga) m, spreacadh m
Japanese: 性格 (ja) (せいかく, seikaku)
Korean: 성격(性格) (ko) (seonggyeok)
Kyrgyz: мүнөз (münöz)
Latvian: raksturs m
Lithuanian: bū̃das (lt) m, charãkteris m
Macedonian: карактер m (karakter)
Maori: āhua (mi)
Polish: charakter (pl) m, usposobienie (pl) n
Russian: хара́ктер (ru) (xarákter), нрав (ru) (nrav)
Tagalog: sangkatangian
Tamil: குணம் (ta) (kuṇam)
Ukrainian: хара́ктер (uk) m (xarákter), вда́ча (uk) f (vdáča), но́ров m (nórov)

moral strength

Arabic: خُلْق‎ (ar) m (ḵulq)
Armenian: կամք (hy) (kamkʿ), ուժեղ կամք (užeł kamkʿ), հաստատակամություն (hy) (hastatakamutʿyun)
Azerbaijani: qılıq
Belarusian: хара́ктар (be) m (xaráktar)
Bulgarian: хара́ктер (bg) m (harákter)
Catalan: caràcter (ca) m
Chinese:

Mandarin: 品質／品质 (zh) (pǐnzhí)
Danish: karakter (da), fasthed, viljestyrke (da)
Dutch: karakter (nl) n
Finnish: luonne (fi), luonteenlujuus
French: caractère (fr)
German: Charakter (de) m
Greek: χαρακτήρας (el) m (charaktíras)
Hebrew: אופי‎ (he) m (ófi)
Indonesian: watak (id)
Italian: carattere (it) m
Japanese: 資質 (ja) (ししつ, shishitsu)
Korean: 자질(資質) (ko) (jajil)
Luhya: esifa
Persian: منش‎ (fa) (maneš), سیرت‎ (fa) (sirat)
Polish: charakter (pl) m
Portuguese: fortaleza moral f, caráter (pt) m (Brazil), carácter (pt) m (Portugal)
Russian: хара́ктер (ru) m (xarákter)
Serbo-Croatian:

Roman: karakter (sh) m
Spanish: carácter (es) m
Swahili: sifa (sw)
Swedish: karaktär (sv) c
Turkish: ahlak (tr), karakter (tr)
Ukrainian: хара́ктер (uk) m (xarákter)

notable or eccentric person

Armenian: տիպ (hy) (tip)
Catalan: personatge (ca) m
Chinese:

Mandarin: 怪人 (zh) (guàirén) (strange person), 人物 (zh) (rénwù)
Danish: personlighed
Dutch: persoonlijkheid (nl) f
Finnish: persoona (fi), persoonallisuus (fi), tyyppi (fi)
French: personnage (fr) m
German: Original (de) n
Greek: χαρακτήρας (el) m (charaktíras)
Hebrew: אִישִׁיּוּת‎ (he) f (ishiyút), טִיפּוּס‎ (he) m (típus)
Italian: personaggio (it) m
Maori: korokē
Portuguese: figura (pt) f, peça (pt) f
Russian: ли́чность (ru) f (líčnostʹ) (person), персона́ж (ru) m (personáž)
Serbo-Croatian:

Roman: lik (sh) m
Spanish: personaje (es) m
Swedish: figur (sv) c
Turkish: orijinal kimse
Walloon: persounaedje (wa) m

symbol or letter

Arabic: حَرْف‎ (ar) m (ḥarf), رَمْز‎ (ar) m (ramz)

Egyptian Arabic: حرف‎ m (ḥarf), رمز‎ m (ramz)
Armenian: նշան (hy) (nšan)
Asturian: caráuter m
Belarusian: лі́тара f (lítara), знак (be) m (znak)
Bengali: হরফ (bn) (hôrôf)
Bulgarian: знак (bg) m (znak), си́мвол (bg) m (símvol)
Burmese: အက္ခရာ (my) (akhka.ra)
Catalan: caràcter (ca) m
Chinese:

Mandarin: 符號／符号 (zh) (fúhào), 字 (zh) (zì)
Czech: znak (cs) m
Danish: tegn (da) n
Dutch: teken (nl) n, karakter (nl) n
Esperanto: signo (eo)
Finnish: kirjain (fi), merkki (fi), kirjoitusmerkki (fi)
French: caractère (fr) m
Galician: carácter m
German: Buchstabe (de) m, Zeichen (de) n, Schriftzeichen (de) n
Greek: χαρακτήρας (el) m (charaktíras), γράμμα (el) n (grámma)

Ancient: χαρακτήρ m (kharaktḗr)
Gujarati: અંધારું (andhārũ)
Hebrew: אוֹת‎ (he) f (ot), תָּו‎ (he) m (tav)
Hindi: अक्षर (hi) m (akṣar)
Hungarian: karakter (hu)
Irish: carachtar m, litir (ga) f
Italian: carattere (it) m
Japanese: 記号 (ja) (きごう, kigō), 文字 (ja) (もじ, moji)
Kannada: ಅಕ್ಷರ (kn) (akṣara)
Korean: 문자(文字) (ko) (munja), 기호(記號) (ko) (giho), 글씨 (ko) (geulssi), 글자 (ko) (geulja)
Lao: ອັກສອນ (ʼak sǭn)
Macedonian: знак m (znak)
Malay: aksara (ms)
Maori: pūāhua
Norwegian:

Bokmål: tegn (no) n

Nynorsk: teikn n
Old English: bocstæf m
Persian: حرف‎ (fa) (harf), نویسه‎ (fa) (nevisa)
Polish: znak (pl) m
Portuguese: caractere (pt) m
Russian: бу́ква (ru) f (búkva), си́мвол (ru) m (símvol), знак (ru) m (znak), иеро́глиф (ru) m (ijeróglif) (Chinese)
Sanskrit: अक्षर (sa) n (akṣara)
Scottish Gaelic: litir f
Spanish: carácter (es) m
Swedish: tecken (sv) n
Tajik: ҳарф (tg) (harf)
Tamil: எழுத்து (ta) (eḻuttu)
Telugu: అక్షరము (te) (akṣaramu)
Thai: อักษร (th) (àk-sɔ̌ɔn)
Turkish: harf (tr), sembol (tr), simge (tr)
Ukrainian: лі́тера (uk) f (lítera), знак m (znak)
Vietnamese: chữ (vi), kí tự (vi)

(computing) basic element in a text string

Albanian: karakter (sq), germë (sq)
Chinese:

Mandarin: 符號／符号 (zh) (fúhào)
Czech: znak (cs) m
Danish: tegn (da)
Dutch: karakter (nl) n
Esperanto: signo (eo)
Finnish: merkki (fi)
French: caractère (fr) m
German: Character (de), Zeichen (de) n
Greek: χαρακτήρας (el) m (charaktíras)
Hebrew: תָּו‎ (he) m (tav)
Hungarian: betű (hu), karakter (hu), leütés (hu), betűhely (hu), n (hu)
Irish: carachtar m
Italian: carattere (it) m
Japanese: 記号 (ja) (きごう, kigō)
Kazakh: таңба (tañba)
Korean: 기호(記號) (ko) (giho)
Maori: pūāhua
Persian: نویسه‎ (fa) (nevisa)
Portuguese: caractere (pt) m, caráter (pt) m
Russian: си́мвол (ru) m (símvol), знак (ru) m (znak)
Spanish: carácter (es) m
Swahili: kibambo class ki/vi
Swedish: tecken (sv) n
Tamil: எழுத்துரு (ta) (eḻutturu)
Thai: อักขระ (th) (àk-kà-rà)
Turkish: karakter (tr)

Verb[edit]

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

(obsolete) To write (using characters); to describe.
- c. 1598–1600 (date written), William Shakespeare, “As You Like It”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [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.

Latin[edit]

Etymology[edit]

From the Ancient Greek χαρακτήρ (kharaktḗr).

Pronunciation[edit]

(Classical) IPA^(key): /kʰaˈrak.teːr/, [kʰäˈräkt̪eːr] or IPA^(key): /kʰaˈrak.ter/, [kʰäˈräkt̪ɛr]
(Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /kaˈrak.ter/, [käˈräkt̪er]

Noun[edit]

charactē̆r m (genitive charactēris); third declension

branding iron
brand (made by a branding iron)
characteristic, mark, character, style

Synonyms: ingenium, nātūra, habitus, mēns, indolēs

Declension[edit]

Third-declension noun.

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

Descendants[edit]

Hungarian: karakter
Galician: caritel; → carácter
Irish: carachtar
Italian: carattere
Old French: caractere
- → English: character
- French: caractère
Polish: charakter
- → Russian: хара́ктер (xarákter)
Portuguese: caractere, carácter
Romanian: caracter
Sicilian: caràttiri
Spanish: carácter

References[edit]

“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 (accessed 16 July 2016) Neulateinische Wortliste: Ein Wörterbuch des Lateinischen von Petrarca bis 1700‎^[1], pre-publication website, 2005-2016

Portuguese[edit]

Noun[edit]

character m (plural characteres)

Obsolete spelling of caráter (used in Portugal until September 1911 and in Brazil until the 1940s).

Источник

Cuvier, in one of a series of lectures, delivered at Paris, in the spring of last year, says, «the name chemistry, itself, comes from the word _chim_, which was the ancient name of Egypt;» and he states that minerals were known to the Egyptians «not only by their external characters, but also by what we at the present day call their _chemical characters_.» ❋ Various (N/A)

Havelock Ellis [11] distinguishes, in addition to the primary and secondary sexual characters (as commonly defined), _tertiary sexual characters_, by which he denotes those differences between the sexes which do not attract our attention when we compare individual members of the two sexes, but which become noticeable when we compare the average male with the average female type. ❋ Albert Moll (1900)

Such distinctive characters are spoken of as _secondary sexual characters_, in contradistinction to the _primary sexual characters_, the reproductive organs. ❋ Albert Moll (1900)

And these principles may be generalised thus: _Whatever is constantly related to a phenomenon (cause or Kind), determined by certain characters, is related in the same way to any phenomenon, that has the same characters_. ❋ Carveth Read (1889)

People have taken all the animals which possess in common not one character only, but a collection of characters of the most important kind, _dominant characters_, as they are called; and of these animals they have formed, to begin with, large primary groups; subdividing these afterwards according to the secondary differences, which distinguish different species in the same group from each other. ❋ Jean Mac�� (1854)

_And then view the dark characters of sieges, ruins, murders, blood, and wars, in their orbs: track the characters_ to their forms! ❋ Samuel Johnson (1746)

Founder, mom and composer Belinda Takahashi’s original music is performed by live orchestral musicians and paired with a cast of endearing puppet characters created and performed by the talented hands behind some of your favorite Muppet and Sesame Street characters*. ❋ Unknown (2010)

_recessive_, and a pair of contrasted characters which act in this way are now called _factors_ or sometimes called _unit characters_. ❋ George McCready Price (N/A)

The only problem I have with new characters is that you focus on them and give us nothing interesting and totally neglect main characters from the previous seasons. ❋ Unknown (2007)

She placed herself in the middle of the court, where she made a great circle, and within it she wrote several words in Arabic characters, some of them ancient, and others of those which they call the characters of Cleopatra. ❋ E. Dixon (N/A)

One of our main characters is a boy who is not all he appears at first, constantly on the run from these people who are apparently worse than the U.S. government, worse than the NSA, FBI, and CSI all rolled into one. ❋ Unknown (2010)

A casting call for «The Hobbit,» featuring breakdowns of several of the movie’s main characters, is making the rounds online courtesy of Spoiler TV. ❋ Unknown (2010)

But none of your three main characters is motivated by religious impulses as such. ❋ Unknown (2010)

One of your main characters is Hector Brennan, a young soldier with movie-star looks from Ilion, a small town in upstate New York. ❋ Unknown (2010)

General opera audiences, accustomed to African stage characters only as exotic royal heroines like the title characters of Verdi’s «Aida» and Giacomo Meyerbeer’s «L’Africaine,» would have taken scant interest in a moralizing work about a rural Arkansas community of former slaves led by a school teacher. ❋ Barrymore Laurence Scherer (2011)

In his 1994 release «Clerks,» and its follow-ups, one of the main characters is a video-store clerk — a classic movie-obsessed slacker. ❋ Jessica E. Vascellaro (2010)

Constantly keeping up with the many main characters is difficult but doable, and following all the story lines is the task of a dedicated reader. ❋ Unknown (2009)

Our first meeting with each of these main characters is short but crisp, giving us an upshot of who they are and what we can expect from them. ❋ Unknown (2009)

[Oh], [Tom], you’re [such a] character. ❋ Awesome (2005)

«…judged not by the color of their skin, but by [the content] of their character.» —Martin [luther] king»
«Our employees are commited to treating you fairly, and are posessed of the highest character.»
[LACKEY]: «The guy can’t be bought. He’s got character»
CRIME BOSS: «We’ll have to wack him then.» ❋ Blueagave (2006)

[Who you] are when you around people means nothing, [but it is] character that determines your [real person]. ❋ [email protected] (2007)

«Mr [Brew] was a popular local character, normally to be found by the war [memorial] in [the high] street». ❋ Battered Osidge (2006)

[Optimist]: «My dog shit on my rug and [pissed on] my wall but its okay because it adds character.»
Optimistic: » My friend had his arm bitten off by [a shark] but its okay because having only one arm adds character.» ❋ Dslice1234 (2012)

Damn, did you see that girl she was all in character, like she’s a [runway model] or something.
I cant even talk all these [fake ass people] in here there [so in] character. ❋ Crillin112 (2010)

“Aye why [aren]’t you friends with [Larissa] anymore?”
“[Ion know] she’s too much of a character for me” ❋ Babyigotme (2019)

1) «Well, they’re [more than] ‘imaginary friends’. They’re characters.
2) «[Meep], [can you send] my characters back? » ❋ Peeves (2004)

“When I feel [sad], I think about [Mario]. He is my [comfort character] and makes me feel happy.” ❋ Squootre (2020)

«My comfort character is [Feng Xin] from [TGCF]!!»
«Thats so swag !!! Mine is [Xie Lian]» ❋ Wangjiluvr (2021)

Источник

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From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Look up character in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

Character or Characters may refer to:
an person, animal, object,
creature.

Arts, entertainment, and media[edit]

Character (arts), a fictional being in a narrative

Literature[edit]

Character (novel), a 1936 Dutch novel by Ferdinand Bordewijk
Characters (Theophrastus), a classical Greek set of character sketches attributed to Theophrastus

Music[edit]

Characters (John Abercrombie album), 1977
Character (Dark Tranquillity album), 2005
Character (Julia Kent album), 2013
Character (Rachael Sage album), 2020
Characters (Stevie Wonder album), 1987

Types of entity[edit]

Character (arts), an agent within a work of art, including literature, drama, cinema, opera, etc.
Character sketch or character, a literary description of a character type
Game character (disambiguation), various types of characters in a video game or role playing game
- Player character, as above but who is controlled or whose actions are directly chosen by a player
- Non-player character, as above but not player-controlled, frequently abbreviated as NPC

Other uses in arts, entertainment, and media[edit]

Character (film), a 1997 Dutch film based on Bordewijk’s novel
Charaktery, a monthly magazine in Poland
Netflix Presents: The Characters, an improvised sketch comedy show on Netflix

Sciences[edit]

Character (biology), the abstraction of an observable physical or biochemical trait of an organism

Mathematics[edit]

Character (mathematics), a homomorphism from a group to a field
Characterization (mathematics), the logical equivalency between objects of two different domains.
Character theory, the mathematical theory of special kinds of characters associated to group representations
Dirichlet character, a type of character in number theory
Multiplicative character, a homomorphism from a group to the multiplicative subgroup of a field

Morality and social science[edit]

Character education, a US term for values education
Character structure, a person’s traits
Moral character, an evaluation of a particular individual’s durable moral qualities

Symbols[edit]

Character (symbol), a sign or symbol
- Character (computing), a unit of information roughly corresponding to a grapheme

Other uses[edit]

Character (income tax), a type of income for tax purposes in the US
Sacramental character, a Catholic teaching
Neighbourhood character, the look and feel of a built environment

English[edit]

Etymology[edit]

Pronunciation[edit]

Noun[edit]

Usage notes[edit]

Hyponyms[edit]

Derived terms[edit]

Translations[edit]

Verb[edit]

See also[edit]

Latin[edit]

Etymology[edit]

Pronunciation[edit]

Noun[edit]

Declension[edit]

Descendants[edit]

References[edit]

Portuguese[edit]

Noun[edit]

Arts, entertainment, and media[edit]

Literature[edit]

Music[edit]

Types of entity[edit]

Other uses in arts, entertainment, and media[edit]

Sciences[edit]

Mathematics[edit]

Morality and social science[edit]

Symbols[edit]

Other uses[edit]

See also[edit]