Characterisations

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. The acts or processes of describing the distinctive qualities or attributes of someone or something ; the methods used to portray or depict characters in literature, art, or other media ; the results or products of such descriptions and portrayals
2. Descriptions and explanations that detail the features and traits of individuals or entities ; techniques used to represent or define characters in stories, plays, or visual works ; outcomes or summaries produced by these descriptive efforts
3. The ways in which attributes and qualities are identified and presented for a person or thing ; approaches to illustrating or conveying characters’ personalities and roles in various forms of expression ; the portrayals or written accounts that stem from these processes

Etymology: "Characterisations" is the plural of "characterisation," a noun formed in English from the verb "characterise" plus the suffix "-ation." The verb itself goes back through Middle English "caracter" and Old French "caractere" to Latin "charactēr," which was borrowed from Ancient Greek "kharaktḗr," meaning a stamp, impression, or engraved mark. That sense of a mark pressed into wax or metal explains why a person's "character" came to mean the distinctive marks that set them apart from others. The "-ise" ending comes from Greek "-ízō" by way of Late Latin "-izāre," and the "-ation" suffix comes from Latin "-ātiō," which turns a verb into a noun naming the act or process. So "characterisation" is, in effect, the act of stamping a distinctive mark on something, and its plural names the many individual portrayals and descriptions that result.

Synonyms: characterizations, descriptions, depictions, portrayals, profiles

Antonyms: genericities, vagueness, ambiguities