different between character vs demon

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).

English

Alternative forms

• (now chiefly in reference to the ancient Greek spirit): daimon, daemon, dæmon

Etymology

From Middle English demon, a borrowing from Medieval Latin d?m?n, daem?n (“lar, familiar spirit, guardian spirit”), from Ancient Greek ?????? (daím?n, “dispenser, god, protective spirit”). Doublet of daimon.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?di?.m?n/
• Rhymes: -i?m?n
• Homophone: daemon

Noun

demon (plural demons)

1. An evil supernatural spirit.
   1. An evil spirit resident in or working for Hell; a devil. [from 10th c.]
   2. (now chiefly historical) A false god or idol; a Satanic divinity. [from 10th c.]
   3. A very wicked or malevolent person; also (in weakened sense) a mischievous person, especially a child. [from 16th c.]
   4. A source (especially personified) of great evil or wickedness; a destructive feeling or character flaw. [from 17th c.]

      The demon of stupidity haunts me whenever I open my mouth.

   5. (in the plural) A person's fears or anxieties. [from 19th c.]
      • 2013, The Guardian, 21 January:

        After a short spell on an adult psychiatric ward, she decided to find her own way to deal with her demons.

2. A neutral supernatural spirit.
   1. A person's inner spirit or genius; a guiding or creative impulse. [from 14th c.]
      • 1616, William Shakespeare, Antony and Cleopatra, II.3:

        Oh Anthony […] Thy Dæmon that thy spirit which keepes thee, is Noble, Couragious, high vnmatchable.

      • 2000, Phillip Pullman, The Amber Spyglass:

        “You saw her. And I picked her up,” Lyra said, blushing, because of course it was a gross violation of manners to touch something so private as someone else's dæmon.

   2. (Greek mythology) A tutelary deity or spirit intermediate between the major Olympian gods and mankind, especially a deified hero or the entity which supposedly guided Socrates, telling him what not to do. [from 16th c.]
   3. A spirit not considered to be inherently evil; a (non-Christian) deity or supernatural being. [from 19th c.]
   4. An hypothetical entity with special abilities postulated for the sake of a thought experiment in philosophy or physics.
      • 1874, William Thomson, 1st Baron Kelvin, “Kinetic Theory of the Dissipation of Energy” in Nature 9, 441-444:

3. Someone with great strength, passion or skill for a particular activity, pursuit etc.; an enthusiast. [from 19th c.]
4. (Britain, card games) A form of patience (known as Canfield in the US). [from 19th c.]
   • 1924, EM Forster, A Passage to India, Penguin 2005, p. 89:

     ‘That's much the best feeling to have.’ She dealt out the first row of ‘demon’.

5. Any of various hesperiid butterflies of the genera Notocrypta and Udaspes.

Usage notes

Meanings drawing on the neutral, ancient Greek conception now often distinguish themselves by the variant spellings daimon or daemon.

Synonyms

• (evil spirit): See Thesaurus:demon
• (neutral spirit): genius, tutelary deity, see also Thesaurus:god and Thesaurus:spirit

Hyponyms

• (evil spirit): See Thesaurus:demon
• (theoretical entity): Maxwell's demon

Related terms

Translations

Anagrams

• Emond, monde, moned

Dutch

Etymology

From Latin daemon (“lar, genius, guardian spirit”), from Ancient Greek ?????? (daím?n, “dispenser, god, protective spirit”). This etymology is incomplete. You can help Wiktionary by elaborating on the origins of this term.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?de?.m?n/
• Hyphenation: de?mon

Noun

demon m (plural demonen or demons)

1. genius, lar
2. (uncommon) demon

   Synonyms: demoon, duivel

Finnish

Noun

demon

1. Genitive singular form of demo.

Anagrams

• moden

Latin

Alternative forms

• d?mum

Pronunciation

• (Classical) IPA^(key): /?de?.mon/, [?d?e?m?n]
• (Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /?de.mon/, [?d???m?n]

Noun

d?mon m

1. accusative singular of d?mos

Middle English

Etymology

From Medieval Latin d?m?n, daem?n, from Ancient Greek ?????? (daím?n). Doublet of tyme (“time”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /d???m??n/

Noun

demon (plural demones)

1. demon, devil, malicious spirit
2. (rare) daimon, helpful spirit

Descendants

• English: demon

References

• “d?m?n, n.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007, retrieved 2018-04-25.

Norwegian Bokmål

Etymology

Borrowed from Ancient Greek ?????? (daím?n).

Noun

demon m (definite singular demonen, indefinite plural demoner, definite plural demonene)

1. a demon

Derived terms

• demonisere

Related terms

• demonisk

References

• “demon” in The Bokmål Dictionary.

Norwegian Nynorsk

Etymology

Borrowed from Ancient Greek ?????? (daím?n).

Noun

demon m (definite singular demonen, indefinite plural demonar, definite plural demonane)

1. a demon

Derived terms

• demonisere

Related terms

• demonisk

References

• “demon” in The Nynorsk Dictionary.

Polish

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin daemon (“lar, genius, guardian spirit”), from Ancient Greek ?????? (daím?n, “dispenser, god, protective spirit”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?d?.m?n/

Noun

demon m anim

1. demon

Declension

Derived terms

• demoniczny, demonicznie
• demonizowa?
• demonologia

Romanian

Alternative forms

• dimon (regional, Moldova)

Etymology

Borrowed from Greek ???????? (daímonas), partly through the intermediate of (South) Slavic *demon?. Compare also Aromanian demun.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [?demon]

Noun

demon m (plural demoni)

1. demon
2. (figuratively) a despicable person

Declension

Synonyms

• diavol
• drac

Antonyms

• înger
• sfânt

Related terms

• demonic

Serbo-Croatian

Etymology

Borrowed from Greek ???????? (daímonas).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /d?mo?n/
• Hyphenation: de?mon

Noun

dèm?n m (Cyrillic spelling ??????)

1. demon

Declension

Derived terms

• dèm?nsk?