Etymologically
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character

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 15 October 2026 at 19:45. This address is a permanent link to this version.
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Pronunciation

  • IPA: UK /ˈkær.ək.tə/, US /ˈker.ək.tɚ/[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English caracter, borrowed from Old French caractere,[2][3][4] from Latin charactēr (“mark, distinctive quality”),[2][5] from Ancient Greek χαρακτήρ (kharaktḗr, “instrument for marking; engraved mark; distinctive nature”),[2][3][4] from χαράσσω (kharássō, “to engrave, cut furrows”), from χάραξ (khárax, “pointed stake”),[2][6] a word of uncertain origin which Beekes thinks most probably Pre-Greek.[2] Merriam-Webster compares Lithuanian žerti “to scratch”,[5] and Klein suggests a Semitic origin.[7] The Latin spelling with ch- was restored in the 16th century.[2][4]

Earliest recorded meaning

A symbol marked on the body or an imprint on the soul: before 1333,[3] or about 1315 as a distinctive mark or brand.[8]

Semantic evolution

A symbol used in sorcery is from 1449,[9] or the mid-15th century,[2] and a letter of the alphabet from 1490.[8][9] Word Origins notes that by the early 16th century the word meant “feature, trait”, from which the modern senses have evolved;[10] Etymonline explains that Greek kharaktḗr had already been extended in Hellenistic times to “a defining quality”.[2] The sum of qualities that distinguish a person is from the 1640s,[2] or the 17th century,[11] and moral qualities by repute from 1712.[2] A person in a play or novel is from the 1660s, a person generally from 1749, and an eccentric from 1773.[2] A computer character is from 1949.[8]

Timeline

  • before 1333 – a mark on the body or soul.[3]
  • 1449 – a magical symbol.[9]
  • 1490 – a letter.[8][9]
  • early 16th century – a feature, trait.[10]
  • 1640s – a person's qualities.[2]
  • 1660s – a person in a play.[2]
  • 1712 – reputation.[2]
  • 1773 – an eccentric.[2]
  • 1949 – a computer character.[8]

Modern meaning

Noun

  1. The combination of qualities that distinguishes one person or thing from another; nature.
  2. Moral strength, integrity; reputation.
  3. A person in a novel, play or film.
  4. (informal) An odd or interesting person.
  5. A letter, figure or symbol used in writing or printing.
  6. (genetics) A trait determined by a gene.

Verb

  1. (archaic) To engrave, inscribe; to describe.

Word family

  • characterless
  • characterful
  • charactery
  • charactonym
  • characterize
  • characterisation
  • characterization
  • characteristic

References

  1. ^ Jones, Daniel (2011), Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary, 18th ed., ed. Peter Roach, Jane Setter and John Esling, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  3. ^ a b c d Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
  4. ^ a b c Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
  5. ^ a b Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (2003), 11th ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  6. ^ The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (2000), 4th ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
  7. ^ Klein, Ernest. A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the English Language. 2 vols. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1966–1967.
  8. ^ a b c d e Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
  9. ^ a b c d Kay, Christian; Roberts, Jane; Samuels, Michael; Wotherspoon, Irené, eds. (2009), Historical Thesaurus of the Oxford English Dictionary, Oxford: Oxford University Press; online edition (2024)
  10. ^ a b Cresswell, Julia (2021), Oxford Dictionary of Word Origins, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  11. ^ Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press