Where does “character” come from?
Character comes from Middle English caracter, from Old French caractere, from Latin character, from Ancient Greek χαρακτήρ (kharaktēr), derived from χαράσσω (kharássō), meaning "to scratch or engrave," ultimately from Proto-Indo-European ǵʰer-.
character (English): A being involved in the action of a story; A...
Definitions
- A being involved in the action of a story; A...
Ancestry of “character”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Middle English | caracter | — |
| 2 | Old French | caractere | mark; sign; indication |
| 3 | Latin | character | branding iron; brand; characteristic, mark,... |
| 4 | Ancient Greek | χαρακτήρ | instrument used for engraving; person who... |
| 5 | Ancient Greek | χαράσσω | to sharpen; to engrave, carve, write, draw, stamp |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | ǵʰer- | to yearn for; to enclose; bowels, intestines |
Words derived from “character”
- characters
- characterise
- characterisation
- characterless
- characterological
- characterful
- metacharacter
- characterology
- charactery
- characterologically
- noncharacter
- multicharacter
- characterlessness
- recharacterisation
- intercharacter
- characterhood
- characterologist
- mischaracterisation
- characterwise
- pseudocharacter
- characterlike
- subcharacter
- characterism
- biocharacter