Where does “persona” come from?

Persona comes from Latin persōna, possibly derived from Latin personāre, combining per- "through" with sonāre "to sound," though the ultimate origin remains uncertain.

persona (English): A social role; A character played by an actor;...

Definitions

  1. A social role; A character played by an actor;...

Ancestry of “persona”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Latinpersōnamask
2Etruscan𐌘𐌄𐌓𐌔𐌖a mask; a masked individual, often performing in...
3Ancient Greekπρόσωπονface, visage, countenance; front; mask
4Ancient Greekὤψto the eye; in the face; eye
5Proto-Hellenicókʷseye
6Proto-Indo-Europeanh₃ókʷseye
7Proto-Indo-Europeanh₃ekʷ-to see; eye

Words derived from “persona

Every word from Proto-Indo-European h₃ekʷ-