different between anthropomorphism vs personification

English

Etymology

Coined in the mid-1700s. From Ancient Greek ???????? (ánthr?pos, “man, human being”) and ????? (morph?, “form, shape”).

Pronunciation

• (General American) IPA^(key): /?æn???p??m??f?z?m/

Noun

anthropomorphism (countable and uncountable, plural anthropomorphisms)

1. The attribution of human characteristics and behavior to something not human. [from the mid-18th c.]
2. (theology) the attribution of human characteristics to divine beings

Usage notes

This term carries very different connotations when used in different contexts. In literature, anthropomorphism describes merely a device of fiction writing, whereas in science (particularly biology) anthropomorphism has traditionally been used pejoratively when a scientist appears to be attributing to animals characteristics that are assumed to be exclusive to human beings.

Antonyms

• dehumanization

Related terms

• anthropomorphic
• anthropomorphically

Translations

See also

• anthropomorphism on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
• prosopopoeia
• zoomorphism
• kemonomimi
• nahualism

English

Etymology

person(ify) +? -ification.

Pronunciation

• Rhymes: -e???n

Noun

personification (countable and uncountable, plural personifications)

1. A person, thing or name typifying a certain quality or idea; an embodiment or exemplification.

   Adolf Hitler was the personification of anti-Semitism.

2. A literary device in which an inanimate object or an idea is given human qualities.

   The writer used personification to convey her ideas.

3. An artistic representation of an abstract quality as a human

   The Grim Reaper is a personification of death.

See also

• anthropomorphism
• humanization

Translations