Personages

Part of speech: noun

Pronunciation: /ˈpɝsənɪd͡ʒɪz/

Definitions

1. Individuals portrayed in a work of literature or drama
2. Characters in a narrative, often distinguished by specific traits and roles
3. Distinct figures in stories, plays, or performances, representing various aspects of human experience

Etymology: "Personages" is simply the plural of "personage," which is the form that appears in the noun's meaning of a person of importance or a notable individual, and in this sense of characters in stories. The noun "personage" came into English from Middle French "personnage," which in turn descends from Old French "personage." Its underlying building blocks are "person," the familiar word for a human being, and the suffix "-age," which French used to form nouns from other words, as in "village" or "passage." Put together, the pieces suggest a sense of "a person with a certain role or presence," which is why the word later came to mean a figure of standing, and then a character in a play or novel.

Synonyms: characters, figures