different between actor vs character

English

Alternative forms

• acter (uncommon)
• actour (obsolete)

Etymology

From Middle English actor, from Latin ?ctor (“doer”), from ag? (“to do”). Equivalent to act +? -or. Cognate with Ancient Greek ????? (ákt?r, “leader”), from ??? (ág?, “lead, carry, convey, bring”).

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /?æk.t?/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /?æk.t?/
• Homophone: acter
• Rhymes: -ækt?(?)

Noun

actor (plural actors, feminine actress)

1. A person who performs, plays a part in a theatrical play or film.
2. One who acts; a doer.
3. One who takes part in a situation.
4. (law) An advocate or proctor in civil courts or causes.
5. (law) One who institutes a suit; plaintiff or complainant.
6. (policy debate) One who enacts a certain policy action.
7. (software engineering) The entity that performs a role (in use case analysis).
8. (linguistics, grammar) The most agent-like argument of a clause, e.g. 'the torpedo' in "The torpedo sank the boat" and "The torpedo fired".

Usage notes

• In the sense of a person who acts in a play or film, the traditional sense of the word only applied to male actors; the term actress being used for the female counterpart.

Synonyms

• (person who performs in a theatrical play or film): performer, player
• (one who acts): doer
• (one who takes part): participant
• (advocate in civil courts or cases):
• (a plaintiff): complainant, plaintiff
• (one who enacts a policy action)
• (entity performing a role in use case analysis): role

Antonyms

• (grammatical role): undergoer

Hyponyms

• (person who performs in a theatrical play or film): actress f
• enactor
• reenactor

Derived terms

• character actor
• nonstate actor
• straight actor
• voice actor

Related terms

Descendants

• ? Scottish Gaelic: actair
• ? Welsh: actor

Translations

Further reading

• actor in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.
• actor in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911.
• actor at OneLook Dictionary Search

Anagrams

• Croat, Croat., carto-, rocta, taroc

Asturian

Etymology

From Latin ?ctor.

Noun

actor m (plural actores)

1. An actor.

Related terms

• actriz

Catalan

Etymology

From Latin ?ctor.

Pronunciation

• (Balearic, Central) IPA^(key): /?k?to/
• (Valencian) IPA^(key): /ak?to?/

Noun

actor m (plural actors, feminine actriu)

1. An actor.

Related terms

• actuar

Further reading

• “actor” in Diccionari de la llengua catalana, segona edició, Institut d’Estudis Catalans.

Dutch

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin ?ctor.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /??k.t?r/
• Hyphenation: ac?tor
• Rhymes: -?kt?r

Noun

actor m (plural actores or actoren, diminutive actortje n)

1. An actor; an agent, a player, who has a part in some field of economical, social or other action, i.e. an active human factor.

Related terms

• acteur
• actie
• activiteit
• agenda
• agens
• ageren
• agitatie
• agitator
• reactor

Latin

Etymology

Agent noun formed from ?ctus +? -tor, perfect passive participle of ag? (“do, act, make”).

Pronunciation

• (Classical) IPA^(key): /?a?k.tor/, [?ä?kt??r]
• (Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /?ak.tor/, [??kt??r]

Noun

?ctor m (genitive ?ct?ris, feminine ?ctr?x); third declension

1. A doer.
2. An actor (person who performs in a theatrical play or movie).
3. A (law) prosecutor, plaintiff, advocate, orator.

Declension

Third-declension noun.

Related terms

• ?cti?
• ?ctr?x
• ?ctus
• agit?

Descendants

References

• actor in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• actor in Charlton T. Lewis (1891) An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
• actor in Charles du Fresne du Cange’s Glossarium Mediæ et Infimæ Latinitatis (augmented edition, 1883–1887)
• actor in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire illustré Latin-Français, Hachette
• Carl Meissner; Henry William Auden (1894) Latin Phrase-Book?^[1], London: Macmillan and Co.
• actor in The Perseus Project (1999) Perseus Encyclopedia?^[2]
• actor in Harry Thurston Peck, editor (1898) Harper's Dictionary of Classical Antiquities, New York: Harper & Brothers
• actor in William Smith, editor (1848) A Dictionary of Greek Biography and Mythology, London: John Murray
• actor in William Smith et al., editor (1890) A Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities, London: William Wayte. G. E. Marindin

Middle English

Noun

actor

1. Alternative form of actour

Occitan

Etymology

From Latin ?ctor.

Pronunciation

Noun

actor m (plural actors, feminine actritz, feminine plural actrises)

1. An actor.

Portuguese

Noun

actor m (plural actores)

1. Superseded spelling of ator.

Romanian

Alternative forms

• aftor (dated)

Etymology

Borrowed from French acteur, Latin ?ctor.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ak?tor/

Noun

actor m (plural actori, feminine equivalent actri??)

1. (acting) An actor.

Declension

Synonyms

• artist, interpret

Derived terms

• actora?
• actoricesc
• actorie

See also

• teatralist

References

• actor in DEX online - Dic?ionare ale limbii române (Dictionaries of the Romanian language)

Scots

Etymology

From English actor.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?akt?r/

Noun

actor (plural actors)

1. An actor.

Spanish

Etymology

From Latin actor.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /a??to?/, [a???t?o?]
• Hyphenation: act?or
• Rhymes: -o?

Noun

actor m (plural actores, feminine actriz or actora, feminine plural actrices or actoras)

1. An actor (person who performs in a theatrical play or movie)

Derived terms

• actor de voz
• actor porno

Related terms

• acción
• acto
• actoral
• actuar

Noun

actor m (plural actores, feminine actora, feminine plural actoras)

1. (law) A defendant.

Further reading

• “actor” in Diccionario de la lengua española, Vigésima tercera edición, Real Academia Española, 2014.

Anagrams

• corta
• tocar

Welsh

Etymology

From English actor.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?akt?r/

Noun

actor m (plural actorion)

1. An actor.

Coordinate terms

• actores (“actress”)

Mutation

References

• R. J. Thomas, G. A. Bevan, P. J. Donovan, A. Hawke et al., editors (1950–present) , “actor”, in Geiriadur Prifysgol Cymru Online (in Welsh), University of Wales Centre for Advanced Welsh & Celtic Studies

English

Etymology

From Middle English caracter, from Old French caractere, from Latin character, from Ancient Greek ???????? (kharakt?r, “type, nature, character”), from ??????? (kharáss?, “I engrave”). Doublet of charakter.

Pronunciation

• (General American) IPA^(key): /?k??(?)kt?/, /?kæ?(?)kt?/
• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /?kæ??kt?/
• Hyphenation: char?ac?ter

Noun

character (countable and uncountable, plural characters)

1. (countable) A being involved in the action of a story.
2. (countable) A distinguishing feature; characteristic; trait; phene.

3. (uncountable, countable) A complex of traits marking a person, group, breed, or type.

   • A man of […] thoroughly subservient character

4. (uncountable) Strength of mind; resolution; independence; individuality; moral strength.

5. (countable) A unique or extraordinary individual; a person characterized by peculiar or notable traits, especially charisma.

6. (countable) A written or printed symbol, or letter.
   • 1669, William Holder, Elements of Speech

     It were much to be wished that there were throughout the world but one sort of character for each letter to express it to the eye.

7. (countable, dated) Style of writing or printing; handwriting; the particular form of letters used by a person or people.
8. (countable, dated) A secret cipher; a way of writing in code.
9. (countable, computing) One of the basic elements making up a text file or string: a code representing a printing character or a control character.
10. (countable, informal) A person or individual, especially one who is unknown or raises suspicions.

11. (countable, mathematics) A complex number representing an element of a finite Abelian group.
12. (countable) Quality, position, rank, or capacity; quality or conduct with respect to a certain office or duty.

13. (countable, dated) The estimate, individual or general, put upon a person or thing; reputation.

    • This subterraneous passage is much mended since Seneca gave so bad a character of it.

14. (countable, dated) A reference given to a servant, attesting to their behaviour, competence, etc.
15. (countable, obsolete) Personal appearance.

Usage notes

Character is sometimes used interchangeably with reputation, but the two words have different meanings; character describes the distinctive qualities of an individual or group while reputation describes the opinions held by others regarding an individual or group. Character is internal and authentic, while reputation is external and perceived.

Hyponyms

Derived terms

Related terms

Pages starting with “character”.

Translations

Verb

character (third-person singular simple present characters, present participle charactering, simple past and past participle charactered)

1. (obsolete) To write (using characters); to describe.

See also

• codepoint
• font
• glyph
• letter
• symbol
• rune
• pictogram

Latin

Etymology

From the Ancient Greek ???????? (kharakt?r).

Pronunciation

• (Classical) IPA^(key): /k?a?rak.ter/, [k?ä??äkt??r]
• (Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /ka?rak.ter/, [k????kt??r]

Noun

character m (genitive charact?ris); third declension

1. branding iron
2. brand (made by a branding iron)
3. characteristic, mark, character, style

Declension

Third-declension noun.

Descendants

• Hungarian: karakter
• Galician: caritel; ? carácter
• Irish: carachtar
• Italian: carattere
• Old French: caractere
  • ? English: character
  • French: caractère
• Polish: charakter
  • ? Russian: ????????? (xarákter)
• Portuguese: caractere, carácter
• Sicilian: caràttiri
• Spanish: carácter

References

• character in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• character in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire illustré Latin-Français, Hachette
• character in Ramminger, Johann (accessed 16 July 2016) Neulateinische Wortliste: Ein Wörterbuch des Lateinischen von Petrarca bis 1700?^[1], pre-publication website, 2005-2016

Portuguese

Noun

character m (plural characteres)

1. Obsolete spelling of caráter (used in Portugal until September 1911 and died out in Brazil during the 1920s).