character

From Middle English caracter, from Old French caractere, from Latin character, from Ancient Greek χαρακτήρ (kharaktḗr, “type, nature, character”), from χαράσσω (kharássō, “I engrave”).

• (General American) IPA^(key): /ˈkɛɹəktɚ/, /ˈkæɹəktɚ/
• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈkæɹəktə/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

• Hyphenation: char‧ac‧ter

character (countable and uncountable, plural characters)

1. A being involved in the action of a story.
   • 1898, Winston Churchill, chapter 1, in The Celebrity:

     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.

2. A distinguishing feature; characteristic; trait; phene.

   (genetics) A single locus governing the petal colour character was detected on the linkage group A2.

3. A complex of mental and ethical traits marking a person or a group.
   • Motley

     a man of […] thoroughly subservient character

   • 1898, Winston Churchill, chapter 3, in The Celebrity:

     Now all this was very fine, but not at all in keeping with the Celebrity's character as I had come to conceive it. The idea that adulation ever cloyed on him was ludicrous in itself. In fact I thought the whole story fishy, and came very near to saying so.

   A study of the suspect's character and his cast iron alibi ruled him out.

4. 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."

5. 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.

6. A written or printed symbol, or letter.
   • Holder

     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.

7. (dated) Style of writing or printing; handwriting; the particular form of letters used by a person or people.

   an inscription in the Runic character

   • Shakespeare

     You know the character to be your brother's?

8. (dated) A secret cipher; a way of writing in code.
9. (computing) One of the basic elements making up a text file or string: a code representing a printing character or a control character.
10. (informal) A person or individual, especially one who is unknown or raises suspicions.

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

11. (mathematics) A complex number representing an element of a finite Abelian group.
12. 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

13. (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.

    • Addison

      This subterraneous passage is much mended since Seneca gave so bad a character of it.

14. (dated) A reference given to a servant, attesting to his/her behaviour, competence, etc.
15. (obsolete) Personal appearance.

A comparison of character and reputation: It would be well if character and reputation were used distinctively. In truth, character is what a person is; reputation is what he is supposed to be. Character is in himself, reputation is in the minds of others. Character is injured by temptations, and by wrongdoing; reputation by slanders, and libels. Character endures throughout defamation in every form, but perishes when there is a voluntary transgression; reputation may last through numerous transgressions, but be destroyed by a single, and even an unfounded, accusation or aspersion.

Pages starting with "character".

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

1. (obsolete) To write (using characters); to describe.
   • c. 1598–1600, William Shakespeare, “As You Like It”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies: Published According to the True Originall Copies (First Folio), London: Printed by Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, OCLC 606515358, (please specify the act number in uppercase Roman numerals):

     , [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.

• codepoint
• font
• glyph
• letter
• symbol
• rune
• pictogram

From the Ancient Greek χαρακτήρ (kharaktḗr).

• (Classical) IPA^(key): /kʰaˈrak.ter/, [kʰaˈrak.tɛr]

character m (genitive charactēris); third declension

1. branding iron
2. brand (made by a branding iron)
3. characteristic, mark, character, style

Third declension.

• Hungarian: karakter
• Irish: carachtar
• Italian: carattere
• Old French: caractere
  • → English: character
  • French: caractère
• Polish: charakter
  • → Russian: хара́ктер (xarákter)
• Portuguese: caractere, carácter
• Spanish: carácter

• 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, pre-publication website, 2005-2016

character m (plural characteres)

1. Obsolete spelling of caráter (used in Portugal until September 1911 and died out in Brazil during the 1920s).