Character (sign)

A character (from the Greek "engraved or stamped mark" on coins or seals, "branding mark, symbol") is a sign or symbol.

A χαρακτήρ is thus an "engraver", originally in the sense of a craftsman, but then also used for a tool used for engraving, and for a stamp for minting coins. From the stamp, the meaning was extended to the stamp impression, Plato using the noun in the sense of "engraved mark". In Plutarch, the word could refer to a figure or letter, Lucian uses it of hieroglyphs as opposed to Greek grammata (Herm. 44)

Metaphorically, it could refer to a distinctive mark, Herodotus (1.57) using it of

The word was used in the sense of letter or grapheme by William Caxton, referring to the Phoenician alphabet, The Fenyces were the fyrst inuentours of caracteris dyfferencing that one fro that other, of whiche were fourmed lettres for to write (Eneydos 6.25). As in Greek, the word was used especially for foreign or mysterious graphemes (such as Chinese, Syriac, or Runic ones) as opposed to the familiar letters; in particular of shorthand (in David Copperfield (chapter 38) sarcastically of shorthand, "a procession of new horrors, called arbitrary characters; the most despotic characters I have ever known"), and since 1949 in computing (see character (computing).

As a collective noun, the word can refer to writing or printing in general (Shakespeare's sonnet nr. 59: Since minde at first in carrecter was done, viz. "since thought was first put in writing").

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