different between character vs stamp

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

Etymology

From Middle English stampen (“to pound, crush”), from assumed Old English *stampian, variant of Old English stempan (“to crush, pound, pound in mortar, stamp”), from Proto-West Germanic *stamp?n, *stampijan, from Proto-Germanic *stamp?n?, *stampijan? (“to trample, beat”), from Proto-Indo-European *stemb- (“to trample down”). Cognate with Dutch stampen (“to stamp, pitch”), German stampfen (“to stamp”), Danish stampe (“to stamp”), Swedish stampa (“to stomp”), Occitan estampar, Polish st?pa? (“to step, treat”). See also stomp, step.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /stæmp/
• Rhymes: -æmp

Noun

stamp (plural stamps)

1. An act of stamping the foot, paw or hoof.
   • 1922, Margery Williams, The Velveteen Rabbit

     Just then there was a sound of footsteps, and the Boy ran past near them, and with a stamp of feet and a flash of white tails the two strange rabbits disappeared.

2. An indentation, imprint, or mark made by stamping.

3. A device for stamping designs.

4. A small piece of paper bearing a design on one side and adhesive on the other, used to decorate letters or craft work.

5. A small piece of paper, with a design and a face value, used to prepay postage or other costs such as tax or licence fees.

6. (slang, figuratively) A tattoo.
7. (slang) A single dose of lysergic acid diethylamide.
8. A kind of heavy pestle, raised by water or steam power, for crushing ores.
9. Cast; form; character; distinguishing mark or sign; evidence.
   • 1863, Sporting Magazine (volume 42, page 290)

     At a short distance from her were a pair of bathers of a very different stamp, if their operations deserved the name of bathing at all, viz., two girls on the confines of womanhood, presenting strong contrast to each other […]

Synonyms

• (paper used to indicate payment has been paid): postage stamp, revenue stamp, tax stamp

Derived terms

Translations

Verb

stamp (third-person singular simple present stamps, present participle stamping, simple past and past participle stamped)

1. (intransitive) To step quickly and heavily, once or repeatedly.

2. (transitive) To move (the foot or feet) quickly and heavily, once or repeatedly.

3. (transitive) To strike, beat, or press forcibly with the bottom of the foot, or by thrusting the foot downward.

   • He frets, he fumes, he stares, he stamps the ground.
4. (transitive) To mark by pressing quickly and heavily.

5. (transitive) To give an official marking to, generally by impressing or imprinting a design or symbol.

6. (transitive) To apply postage stamps to.

7. (transitive, figuratively) To mark; to impress.
   • , Book IV, Chapter X

     God […] has stamped no original characters on our minds wherein we may read his being.

Synonyms

• (mark by pressing quickly and heavily): emboss, dent
• (give an official marking to): impress, imprint

Translations

Related terms

Anagrams

• tamps

Dutch

Pronunciation

• Rhymes: -?mp

Verb

stamp

1. first-person singular present indicative of stampen
2. imperative of stampen

Anagrams

• spamt

Icelandic

Pronunciation

• Rhymes: -am?p

Noun

stamp

1. indefinite accusative singular of stampur

Norwegian Nynorsk

Verb

stamp

1. imperative of stampa

Welsh

Etymology

From English stamp.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /stamp/

Noun

stamp m or f (plural stampiau or stamps, not mutable)

1. stamp (for postage, validation on a document, evidence of payment, etc.)

Further reading

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