charakter

See also: Charakter

English

An intaglio of charakteres.

Etymology

Directly borrowed from Ancient Greek χαρακτήρ (kharaktḗr). Doublet of character.

Noun

charakter (plural charakteres)

1. A glyph with no agreed semantic or phonetic value, generally formed by deforming a letter of the Greek alphabet or a simple geometric symbol via one of several predefined processes, used as part of magical texts in the Hellenistic world.
   • 2004, Angelos Chaniotis, Thomas Corsten, R. S. Stroud, Rolf Tybout, editors, Supplementum Epigraphicum Graecum, volume LIV, page 660:

     […] (yellow diasper; inscription in a circle enclosing magical charakteres on two lines; other letters (?) and charakteres on the rim; scorpion on the reverse; 3rd cent. A.D.; N. 660/661) […]

   • 2011, György Németh, Sequences of charakteres in some circus defixiones in Latin from Hadrumetum:

     Among the roughly forty curse-tablets found, mainly by French army officers in the late nineteenth century, at Hadrumetum, is a group of texts exhibiting a common feature, namely that they contain recurring sequences of charakteres. In this form they have not been found elsewhere; moreover, the individual charakteres are also different from magic signs found elsewhere.

   • 2014, Richard Gordon, Charaktêres between Antiquity and Renaissance: Transmission and Re-invention:

     The great majority of charaktêres, like the majority of voces magicae, were never memorized – they were simply produced on one occasion. That is why there could be so many of them. We shall see this principle emphatically re-asserted in the medieval and early-modern shift from the charaktêr to the sigillum.

   • 2019, Radcliffe G. Edmonds III, Drawing Down the Moon: Magic in the Ancient Greco-Roman World, page 337:

     Such hissings and poppings are not the only incomprehensible signs that the theurgists use to make contact with the divine; various sources make mention of charakteres, incomprehensible drawn figures that seem to resemble letters or images but without any clear iconic resemblance.

Czech

Etymology

Inherited from Old Czech charakter, from Latin charactē̆r, from Ancient Greek χαράσσω (kharássō). Compare Polish charakter and Slovak charakter.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ˈxaraktɛr]

• Audio

  (file)

Noun

charakter m inan

1. character (moral strength)
2. character (features)

   Synonyms: ráz, povaha

Declension

Declension of charakter (hard masculine inanimate)

	singular	plural
nominative	charakter	charaktery
genitive	charakteru	charakterů
dative	charakteru	charakterům
accusative	charakter	charaktery
vocative	charaktere	charaktery
locative	charakteru	charakterech
instrumental	charakterem	charaktery

Related terms

• bezcharakterní
• charakteristický
• charakteristika f
• charakterizace f
• charakterizovat

 

Further reading

• charakter in Příruční slovník jazyka českého, 1935–1957
• charakter in Slovník spisovného jazyka českého, 1960–1971, 1989
• charakter in Internetová jazyková příručka

Kashubian

Etymology

Borrowed from Polish charakter.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈxaraktʲɛr/
• Syllabification: cha‧rak‧ter

Noun

charakter m inan

1. character (nature of something or something, personality)

Further reading

• Stefan Ramułt (1893) “χarakter”, in Słownik języka pomorskiego czyli kaszubskiego‎^[3] (in Kashubian), page 52
• Jan Trepczyk (1994) “charakter”, in Słownik polsko-kaszubski (in Kashubian), volumes 1-2
• Eùgeniusz Gòłąbk (2011) “charakter”, in Słownik Polsko-Kaszubski / Słowôrz Pòlskò-Kaszëbsczi‎^[4]
• “charakter”, in Internetowi Słowôrz Kaszëbsczégò Jãzëka [Internet Dictionary of the Kashubian Language], Fundacja Kaszuby, 2022

Old Czech

Etymology

Learned borrowing from Latin charactē̆r, from Ancient Greek χαράσσω (kharássō). Compare Old Slovak charakter.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): (13^th CE) /ˈxaraktɛr/
• IPA^(key): (15^th CE) /ˈxaraktɛr/

Noun

charakter m inan

1. character (engraved sign, mark, sign of something)

Declension

Declension of charakter (hard o-stem)

	singular	dual	plural
nominative	charakter	charaktery	charakteři, charakterové
genitive	charaktera, charakteru	charakterú	charakteróv
dative	charakteru	charakteroma	charakteróm
accusative	charakter	charaktery	charaktery
vocative	charakteře	charaktery	charakteři, charakterové
locative	charakteřě, charakteru	charakterú	charakteřiech
instrumental	charakterem	charakteroma	charaktery

This table shows the most common forms around the 13th century.
See also Appendix:Old Czech nouns and Appendix:Old Czech pronunciation.

Descendants

• Czech: charakter

References

• Jan Gebauer (1903–1916) “charakter”, in Slovník staročeský (in Czech), Prague: Česká grafická společnost "unie", Česká akademie císaře Františka Josefa pro vědy, slovesnost a umění

Old Slovak

Etymology

Learned borrowing from Latin charactē̆r, from Ancient Greek χαράσσω (kharássō). Compare Old Czech charakter. First attested in the 17th century.

Noun

charakter m inan

1. character (sign, mark)
2. character (personality)
3. honor

Descendants

• Slovak: charakter

References

• Majtán, Milan et al., editors (1991–2008), “charakter”, in Historický slovník slovenského jazyka [Historical Dictionary of the Slovak Language] (in Slovak), volumes 1–7 (A – Ž), Bratislava: VEDA, →OCLC

Polish

Alternative forms

• harakter, karakter (Middle Polish)

Etymology

Learned borrowing from Latin charactē̆r. First attested in 1557. Compare Czech charakter and Slovak charakter.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /xaˈrak.tɛr/
• (Middle Polish) IPA^(key): /xaˈrak.tɛr/

• Audio

  (file)

• Rhymes: -aktɛr
• Syllabification: cha‧rak‧ter

Noun

charakter m inan (related adjective charakterowy)

1. character, personality (complex of traits marking a person)

   Synonym: natura

   Rozwiedliśmy się ze względu na niezgodność charakterów.

   We divorced due to incompatible personalities.

2. character, personality (strength of mind; resolution; independence; individuality; moral strength)
3. character (complex of traits marking an object or pheonomenon)

   Synonyms: barwa, zabarwienie

   Działania na terytorium Ukrainy mają charakter wojenny.

   The activity on the territory of Ukraine has the features of war.

4. (narratology) character (being that can act in a work of fiction)

   Synonym: postać

5. (formal) role

   Czy wezmę udział w procesie w charakterze świadka czy pokrzywdzonego?

   Will I take part in the trial as a witness or as a victim?

6. (obsolete) property, trait (defining characteristic of an object)

   Synonym: właściwość

7. (obsolete) character (letter, mark, or sign)
   1. (Middle Polish) written spell or charm
8. (Middle Polish) mark, sign

   Synonyms: piętno, ślad, znamię

9. (Middle Polish, heraldry) banner; coat of arms

   Synonyms: chorągiew, herb

10. (Middle Polish, now in set phrases) handwriting (manner of writing)

    Synonym: charakter pisma

Declension

Standardly:

Declension of charakter

	singular	plural
nominative	charakter	charaktery
genitive	charakteru	charakterów
dative	charakterowi	charakterom
accusative	charakter	charaktery
instrumental	charakterem	charakterami
locative	charakterze	charakterach
vocative	charakterze	charaktery

Regionally:

Declension of charakter

	singular	plural
nominative	charakter	charaktry
genitive	charaktru	charaktrów
dative	charaktrowi	charaktrom
accusative	charakter	charaktry
instrumental	charaktrem	charaktrami
locative	charaktrze	charaktrach
vocative	charaktrze	charaktry

Derived terms

nouns

• charakter pisma
• czarny charakter

 

prepositions

• w charakterze

 

Descendants

• → Kashubian: charakter
• → Russian: хара́ктер (xarákter)
• → Silesian: karakter (through Middle Polish "karakter")

Trivia

According to Słownik frekwencyjny polszczyzny współczesnej (1990), charakter is one of the most used words in Polish, appearing 37 times in scientific texts, 18 times in news, 48 times in essays, 7 times in fiction, and 10 times in plays, each out of a corpus of 100,000 words, totaling 120 times, making it the 499th most common word in a corpus of 500,000 words.

Further reading

• charakter in Wielki słownik języka polskiego, Instytut Języka Polskiego PAN
• charakter in Polish dictionaries at PWN
• Wiesław Morawski (25.05.2023) “CHARAKTER”, in Elektroniczny Słownik Języka Polskiego XVII i XVIII Wieku [Electronic Dictionary of the Polish Language of the XVII and XVIII Century]
• Samuel Bogumił Linde (1807–1814) “charakter”, in Słownik języka polskiego‎^[5]
• Aleksander Zdanowicz (1861) “charakter”, in Słownik języka polskiego, Wilno 1861‎^[6]
• J. Karłowicz, A. Kryński, W. Niedźwiedzki, editors (1900), “charakter”, in Słownik języka polskiego‎^[7] (in Polish), volume 1, Warsaw, page 271

Slovak

Etymology

Inherited from Old Slovak charakter, from Latin charactē̆r, from Ancient Greek χαράσσω (kharássō). Compare Czech charakter and Polish charakter.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ˈxarakcer]

Noun

charakter m inan (genitive singular charakteru, nominative plural charaktery, genitive plural charakterov, declension pattern of dub)

1. character (moral strength)
2. character (features)

Declension

Declension of charakter

	singular	plural
nominative	charakter	charaktery
genitive	charakteru	charakterov
dative	charakteru	charakterom
accusative	charakter	charaktery
locative	charaktere	charakteroch
instrumental	charakterom	charaktermi

Synonyms

• ráz
• povaha

Related terms

• bezcharakterný
• charakteristický
• charakteristika
• charakterizácia
• charakterizovať
• charakterný
• charakterove
• charakterovo
• charakterový

 

Further reading

• “charakter”, in Slovníkový portál Jazykovedného ústavu Ľ. Štúra SAV [Dictionary portal of the Ľ. Štúr Institute of Linguistics, Slovak Academy of Science] (in Slovak), https://slovnik.juls.savba.sk, 2024