χαρακτήρ Ancient Greek · revision 15590

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=derivation|attested=6th–5th century BC, Aeschylus|origins=grc χαράσσω}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA (5th-century BC Attic): /kʰa.rak.tɛ̌ːr/^(Wiktionary)

+ * IPA (4th-century AD Koine): /xa.rakˈtir/^(Wiktionary)

+ * IPA (10th-century Byzantine): /xa.rakˈtir/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''χᾰρᾰκτήρ''' (kharaktḗr) ''m'' (genitive χᾰρᾰκτῆρος); third declension^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is formed from [[m|grc|χαράσσω|tr=kharássō|t=to scratch, engrave]] with the agent suffix [[m|grc|-τήρ|tr=-tḗr]].^(Wiktionary)^(LSJ 1940)^(CGL 2021) Mycenaean has a related form, [[gmy|ka-ra-ka-te-ra]].^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ Its first recorded use is in Aeschylus' ''Suppliants'' (282), for the stamp of a Cypriot type on women's features.^(GLAUx)^(LSJ 1940) Euripides uses it for the bright stamp on silver coins.^(LSJ 1940)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ It was the engraver or minter (an Olbian inscription of the 3rd century BC), the graving tool, the die and the branding iron, and above all the stamp on coins and seals (Euripides, Plato, Aristotle).^(LSJ 1940)^(CGL 2021) Aristotle uses it for a coin type, and Isocrates for the stamp that virtue sets on deeds.^(CGL 2021)^(LSJ 1940)

+

+ From the mark it came to mean letters and written characters (Plutarch, Galen), magical symbols, and hieroglyphs as opposed to letters.^(LSJ 1940) Figuratively it was the distinctive mark of a person or thing: Herodotus speaks of the character of a dialect and of the features of a face.^(LSJ 1940) It also meant a style, and a person's character.^(Wiktionary)

+

+ Latin borrowed it as [[m|la|character]], and Coptic as well.^(Saalfeld 1874)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 6th–5th century BC – Aeschylus uses it for the stamp of a people's features.^(GLAUx)^(LSJ 1940)

+ * 5th century BC – Herodotus uses it for the character of a dialect.^(LSJ 1940)^(DGE)

+ * 5th century BC – Euripides uses it for the stamp on coins.^(LSJ 1940)^(DGE)

+ * 4th century BC – Aristotle uses it for a coin type.^(CGL 2021)^(DGE)

+ * 1st–2nd century AD – Plutarch uses it for written letters.^(LSJ 1940)^(DGE)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Noun===

+ # An [[m|en|engraver]]; a graving tool; a die, stamp.^(LSJ 1940)^(Wiktionary)

+ # A stamp, [[m|en|imprint]] on coins or seals; a coin type.^(CGL 2021)^(LSJ 1940)

+ # A letter, written [[m|en|character]]; a magical symbol.^(LSJ 1940)^(Wiktionary)

+ # A distinctive mark, characteristic; a feature.^(LSJ 1940)

+ # Character, style.^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[χαρακτηρίζω|tr=kharaktērízō]]

+ * [[χαρακτηριστικός|tr=kharaktēristikós]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[la|character]]

+ * [[en|character]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}