person

per-son · noun

imported

Definitions

noun

  1. 1.

    A human being regarded as an individual.

  2. 2.

    A human body.

  3. 3.

    (Grammar) A category used in classifying pronouns and verb forms according to whether they indicate the speaker (first person), the one spoken to (second person), or the one spoken about (third person).

  4. 4.

    (Law) A human being or organization with legal rights and duties.

Forms

plural: people

Related words

See also: human, individual, people, personality
Synonyms: human being, individual, somebody

Etymology

From Old French persone, from Latin persona meaning "mask used by an actor, character in a play," possibly from Etruscan phersu meaning "mask." The sense evolved from "theatrical mask" to "character" to "individual human being" by the 13th century.