Portrature

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. An artistic depiction or likeness of a person or thing, especially one made in painting, drawing, or another visual medium
2. The act or result of drawing, painting, or otherwise representing a figure so that its appearance is captured
3. A visual representation of someone or something, created to show its form and character in an image

Etymology: The word is an older spelling of "portraiture," and it comes from the Old French "portraiture," formed from "portraire," meaning "to portray." That verb traces back to Latin "protrahere," "to draw forth" or "to bring out," a sense that has little to do with painting. The Latin idea of drawing something out into view gradually narrowed to tracing or outlining a likeness, and then to depicting a person in paint, stone, or words. Over time the noun settled into its modern uses: a portrait, or the art of making portraits. The older form "portrature" survives mainly in older writing and in some dialect and literary uses.

Synonyms: portrait, depiction, likeness, portrayal