DictionaryRoot: persona
Latin
persona
mask, role, or person
Forms
- persona
- person- — Used before other endings.
Origin
A Latin theatrical and social word, often linked to an Etruscan source; the derivation is uncertain.
Note
The traditional explanation from “sounding through” a mask is not a secure etymology.
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noun
person
A grammatical category distinguishing the speaker, the addressee, and others.
Etymology
Latin persona meant a role, character, or person. Grammar uses person to distinguish the roles occupied in speech: speaker, addressee, and those spoken about.