character

A2 Topic:Describing People

US /ˈkæɹ(ə)ktɚ/ UK /ˈkæ.ɹɪk.tə/ See IPA manual

Freq #1537

Meanings

1

noun
A person in a story, film, or play.

I am the main character in the novel of my life.
2

noun
The qualities that make someone's personality and decide how they behave.

Honesty is an important part of her character.
3

noun
A letter, number, or symbol used in writing.

The Greek alphabet has 24 characters.
4

noun
An unusual or interesting person.

Her grandfather was a real character.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 noun · a person in a story, film,... fictional character

3 noun · a letter, number, or symbol... grapheme

Word family

Forms characters

Derived forms bicharacterbiocharactercharacter-basedcharacter-buildingcharacter-formingcharacterfulcharacterhoodcharacterisation characterisecharacterismcharacteristcharacteristic

Etymology

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

caracter Middle English caractere Old French character Latin χαρακτήρ Ancient Greek

View etymology graph ->

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# character

**Type:** Word
**Level:** A2
**Part of speech:** noun
**IPA (US):** /ˈkæɹ(ə)ktɚ/
**IPA (UK):** /ˈkæ.ɹɪk.tə/
**Frequency rank:** 1537

## Meanings
1. A person in a story, film, or play.
2. The qualities that make someone's personality and decide how they behave.
3. A letter, number, or symbol used in writing.
4. An unusual or interesting person.

## Examples
- I am the main character in the novel of my life.
- Honesty is an important part of her character.
- The Greek alphabet has 24 characters.
- Her grandfather was a real character.

## Derived Forms
- bicharacter
- biocharacter
- character-based
- character-building
- character-forming
- characterful
- characterhood
- characterisation
- characterise
- characterism
- characterist
- characteristic

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: caracter
- Root: caractere
- Root: character
- Root: χαρακτήρ

## Etymology
From Middle English caracter, from Old French caractere, from Latin character, from Ancient Greek χαρακτήρ (kharaktḗr, “type, nature, character”), from χαράσσω (kharássō, “to engrave”). Doublet of charakter.

## AI Etymology
character is a noun. It is from Middle English caracter, from Old French caractere, from Latin character, from Ancient Greek χαρακτήρ (kharaktḗr, “type, nature, character”), from χαράσσω (kharássō, “to engrave”). Doublet of charakter. Historical forms in the chain include caracter (Middle English), caractere (Old French), character (Latin), and χαρακτήρ (Ancient Greek). Current senses include a person in a story, film, or play, the qualities that make someone's personality and decide how they behave, and a letter, number, or symbol used in writing. Derived forms include bicharacter, biocharacter, character-based, character-building, and character-forming.

## Topics
- Describing People

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character

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