character

Pronunciation

• IPA (Classical): [kʰaˈrak.teːr]^[1]
• IPA (Ecclesiastical): [kaˈrak.ter]^[1]

Forms

charactēr m (genitive charactēris); third declension^[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Ancient Greek χαρακτήρ (kharaktḗr, “engraved mark, stamp”), from χαράσσω (kharássō, “to engrave”).^[2][1][3] Manuscripts most often write ⟨caracter⟩.^[4] Isidore defines it as the heated iron with which cattle are branded.^[5]

Earliest recorded meaning

The OLD's earliest citation for the figurative sense is from Varro.^[2] Köbler dates Varro 116–27 BC.^[3]

Semantic evolution

It meant a branded or stamped letter or mark, as in Columella, and in Isidore the branding iron.^[2][6] Figuratively, from Varro, it meant a character, stamp, the distinctive manner of a style.^[2][6]

In Ecclesiastical Latin it meant a character, a spiritual mark.^[7] Medieval Latin used it for a brand, an inscription, a sign, charactēr crucis the sign of the cross.^[8] British Medieval Latin also used it for a magical character and a musical note.^[9] It survives in Italian carattere and French caractère, and English character came in the mid-14th century, “a mark branded on the body”.^[1][10]

Timeline

• 116–27 BC – Varro uses it of a distinctive stamp.^[2][3]
• 1st century AD – Columella uses it of a brand.^[2][3]
• c. 560–636 AD – Isidore uses it of a branding iron.^[5][3]
• mid-14th century – English character is recorded.^[10]

Meanings

Noun

1. A branded or stamped mark; a branding iron.^[2][6]
2. A distinctive stamp, character.^[2]
3. (Ecclesiastical Latin) A spiritual mark.^[7]
4. (Medieval Latin) An inscription; a sign, charactēr crucis, the sign of the cross.^[8]

Related words

• English character
• English characteristic

References

1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
3. ^ a b c d e Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
4. ^ Thesaurus linguae Latinae (1900–), Leipzig: Teubner; Berlin: De Gruyter; open-access ed., Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
5. ^ a b Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
6. ^ a b c Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
7. ^ a b Stelten, Leo F. (1995), Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin, Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson
8. ^ a b Niermeyer, J. F. (1976), Mediae Latinitatis Lexicon Minus, Leiden: Brill
9. ^ Latham, R. E., D. R. Howlett, R. K. Ashdowne, et al. (1975–2013), Dictionary of Medieval Latin from British Sources, London: British Academy / Oxford University Press
10. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com