character

Concise Oxford English Dictionary © 2008 Oxford University Press:
character/ˈkarəktə(r)/

▶noun

• 1 the mental and moral qualities distinctive to an individual.

  ■ strength and originality in a person's nature.

  ■ a person's good reputation.

• 2 the distinctive nature of something: gas lamps give the area its character.

• 3 a person in a novel, play, or film.

  ■ a part played by an actor.

• 4 informal an unusual or amusing person.

• 5 a printed or written letter or symbol.

  ■ Computing a symbol representing a letter or number.

• 6 chiefly Biology a characteristic, especially one that assists in the identification of a species.

▶verb archaic inscribe or write (something).

■ describe.

– derivatives
characterful adjective,
characterfully adverb,
characterless adjective.

– origin ME (in the sense ‘distinctive mark’, later ‘feature or trait’): from OFr. caractere, via L. from Gk kharaktēr ‘a stamping tool’.