Meanings
plural characts
- obsoleteA character or personality.
Even so may Angelo / In all his dressings, characts, titles, forms, / Be an arch-villain.
c. 1603–1604 (date written), William Shakespeare, “Measure for Measure”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, (please specify the act number in uppercase Roman numerals, and the scene number in lowercase Roman numerals) - archaicA magical symbol.
O son of Khazib! when thou wakest from thy sleep dig under thy feet and thou shalt find a bow of brass and three leaden arrows, inscribed with talismans and characts.
1885, Sir Richard Burton, The Book of the Thousand Nights and One Night, Night 15
Origin
- Ancient Greekχαρακτός
- Latin*characta
- Old Frenchcharacte
- Englishcharact
From Old French characte, from Latin *characta, from Ancient Greek χαρακτός (kharaktós).
More words from Old French, Latin, Ancient Greek
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
charact. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/charact
“charact.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/charact. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “charact,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/charact.
Source: charact on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.