character

Etymology

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

noun

1. (countable) A being involved in the action of a story.
   [I]n a tragedy, or epick poem, the hero of the piece must be advanced foremost to the view of the reader or spectator; he must outshine the rest of all the characters; he must appear the prince of them, like the sun in the Copernican system, encompassed with the less noble planets … 1695, John Dryden, A Parallel of Poetry and Painting
   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. April 26, 2012, Tasha Robinson, “Film: Reviews: The Pirates! Band Of Misfits”, in The Onion AV Club
2. (countable) A distinguishing feature; characteristic; trait; phene.
   A single locus governing the petal colour character was detected on the linkage group A2.
3. (uncountable, countable) A complex of traits marking a person, group, breed, or type.
   A study of the suspect's character and his cast iron alibi ruled him out.
4. (uncountable) 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."
   Shepard: Are you attracted to other species? Kelly: Well, part of my job is predicting the motives and feelings of humans and aliens. Intimacy brings understanding. Kelly: And passion is nice wherever you find it. Character matters, not race or gender. 2010, BioWare, Mass Effect 2 (Science Fiction), Redwood City: Electronic Arts, →OCLC, PC, scene: Normandy SR-2
5. (countable) 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. (countable) A written or printed symbol, or letter.
7. (countable, dated) Style of writing or printing; handwriting; the particular form of letters used by a person or people.
   an inscription in the Runic character
8. (countable, dated) A secret cipher; a way of writing in code.
9. (countable, computing) One of the basic elements making up a text file or string: a code representing a printing character or a control character.
10. (countable, informal) A person or individual, especially one who is unknown.
    We saw a shady character slinking out of the office with some papers.
    That old guy is a real character.
11. (countable, mathematics) A complex number representing an element of a finite Abelian group.
12. (countable) 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. (countable, 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.
14. (countable, dated) A reference given to a servant, attesting to their behaviour, competence, etc.
15. (countable, obsolete) Personal appearance.

verb

1. (obsolete) To write (using characters); to describe.