Etymologically
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portrait

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 16 October 2026 at 08:50. This address is a permanent link to this version.
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Pronunciation

  • IPA: /ˈpɔːtɹeɪt/, /ˈpɔːtɹɪt/ (UK); /ˈpɔɹtɹət/ (US)[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Middle French portrait, the noun use of the past participle of Old French portraire (“to paint, depict”) (see portray),[2][3][4][5] from por- and traire (“to draw”), from Latin trahere (“to draw”);[4] it is partly a back-formation from portraiture.[2][3]

Earliest recorded meaning

A drawing, painting or carving of any object: 1560 in MWU, the 1560s in Etymonline, 1570 in Barnhart, in George Buchanan's works.[5][3][2]

Semantic evolution

A likeness of a person, especially of the face, the main modern sense, is from 1585.[6][3] A statue or effigy was also a portrait (1585), now obsolete.[6] A vivid description in words follows.[7][8] In printing and computing, portrait format, taller than it is wide, is from 1975 in MWU.[5][8]

Timeline

  • 1560 – a picture of any object.[5]
  • 1585 – a likeness of a person.[6]
  • 1975 – portrait format.[5]

Modern meaning

Noun

  1. A painting, drawing or photograph of a person, especially of the face.
  2. A vivid description in words.

Adjective

  1. Of a page or screen, taller than it is wide.

Word family

  • portraitlike
  • portraitist
  • self-portrait
  • portray
  • trait
  • portraiture
  • tract
  • attract

References

  1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
  3. ^ a b c d Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  4. ^ a b Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  5. ^ a b c d e Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  6. ^ a b c Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
  7. ^ The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
  8. ^ a b Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins