Meanings
- datednot comparableabout a work for the stage or a performer's part in itWhich, in the historical French nomenclature, was halfway between serious (sérieux) and comic (comique); typically, where the protagonists or the plot were not noble enough compared to those derived from mythology or history, but could still convey serious emotions (see for example the 1886 Camille Bellaigue quotation about Bizet's opera Carmen under French demi-caractère)
Synonyms: demicharacter
Synonyms & antonyms
adjectiveWhich, in the historical French nomenclature, was halfway between serious (sérieux) and comic (comique); typically, where the protagonists or the plot were not noble enough compared to those derived from mythology or history, but could still convey serious emotions (see for example the 1886 Camille Bellaigue quotation about Bizet's opera Carmen under French demi-caractère)
Origin
- Frenchdemi-caractère
- Englishdemi-caractère
Borrowed from French demi-caractère.
More words from French
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
demi-caractère. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/demi-caract%C3%A8re
“demi-caractère.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/demi-caract%C3%A8re. Accessed November 5, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “demi-caractère,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/demi-caract%C3%A8re.
Source: demi-caractère on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.