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person
1[ pur-suhn ]
noun
- a human being, whether an adult or child:
The table seats four persons.
- a human being as distinguished from an animal or a thing.
- an individual human being who likes or prefers something specified (used in combination):
I've never been a cat person.
- Sociology. an individual human being, especially with reference to social relationships and behavioral patterns as conditioned by the culture.
- Philosophy. a self-conscious or rational being.
- the actual self or individual personality of a human being:
You ought not to generalize, but to consider the person you are dealing with.
- the body of a living human being, sometimes including the clothes being worn:
He had no money on his person.
- the body in its external aspect:
an attractive person to look at.
- a character, part, or role, as in a play or story.
- an individual of distinction or importance.
- a person not entitled to social recognition or respect.
- Law. a human being natural person or a group of human beings, a corporation, a partnership, an estate, or other legal entity artificial person, or juristic person recognized by law as having rights and duties.
- Grammar. a category found in many languages that is used to distinguish between the speaker of an utterance and the person or people being spoken to or about. In English there are three persons in the pronouns, the first represented by I and we, the second by you, and the third by he, she, it, and they. Most verbs have distinct third person singular forms in the present tense, as writes; the verb be has, in addition, a first person singular form am.
- Theology. any of the three hypostases or modes of being in the Trinity, namely the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
-person
2- a combining form of person, replacing paired, gender-specific forms such as -man and -woman or -er1 and -ess:
chairperson;
salesperson;
waitperson.
-person
1suffix forming nouns
- sometimes used instead of -man and -woman or -lady
chairperson
salesperson
Person
2/ ˈpɜːsən /
noun
- Christianity any of the three hypostases existing as distinct in the one God and constituting the Trinity. They are the First Person, the Father, the Second Person, the Son, and the Third Person, the Holy Ghost
person
3/ ˈpɜːsən /
noun
- an individual human being
- the body of a human being, sometimes including his or her clothing
guns hidden on his person
- a grammatical category into which pronouns and forms of verbs are subdivided depending on whether they refer to the speaker, the person addressed, or some other individual, thing, etc
- a human being or a corporation recognized in law as having certain rights and obligations
- philosophy a being characterized by consciousness, rationality, and a moral sense, and traditionally thought of as consisting of both a body and a mind or soul
- archaic.a character or role; guise
- in person
- actually present
the author will be there in person
- without the help or intervention of others
person
- An inflectional form ( see inflection ) of pronouns and verbs that distinguishes between the person who speaks (first person), the person who is spoken to (second person), and the person who is spoken about (third person). The pronoun or verb may be singular or plural . For example:
first person singular: I walk.
second person singular: you walk.
third person singular: he/she/it walks.
first person plural: we walk.
second person plural: you walk.
third person plural: they walk.
Usage Note
Usage
Gender Note
Grammar Note
Other Words From
- multi·person adjective
- super·person noun
Word History and Origins
Origin of person1
Word History and Origins
Origin of person1
Idioms and Phrases
- be one's own person, to be free from restrictions, control, or dictatorial influence:
Now that she's working, she feels that she's her own person.
- in person, in one's own bodily presence; personally:
Applicants are requested to apply in person.
More idioms and phrases containing person
In addition to the idiom beginning with person , also see feel like oneself (a new person) ; in person ; own person, one's .Synonym Study
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More About Person
What is a person?
A person is a human being, especially in contrast with an animal, plant, or object, as in Layla was the only person in the room, so my cat gave her all its attention.
Person can be used in combination with an adjective word to describe something specific about that individual, as in Johann was a dog person, but his spouse was definitely a cat person.
In grammar, person is a category that distinguishes the speaker from other people. In English, you use first person when referring to yourself, either as an individual (I) or as part of a group (we). Second person refers to those you are talking to (you), and third person refers to people other than yourself and those you are speaking to (he, she, it, they).
Person has many other specialized uses, such as in philosophy and sociology.
Example: That person at the gate told me to come around this way to park.
Where does person come from?
The first records of the term person come from around 1175. It ultimately comes from the Greek prósōpa, meaning “face, mask.”
Person is a common way to refer to an individual human being and has developed some specialized uses. For example, person is sometimes used to mean someone’s body, usually referencing something they have in their possession, as in I feel so uncomfortable when I don’t have my phone on my person. In law, a natural person (that is, a human being) is distinguished from an artificial, or juristic, person, which is a legal entity (like a corporation) that has rights and duties under the law.
Did you know … ?
What are some other forms related to person?
- multiperson (adjective)
- superperson (noun)
- personable (adjective)
- personal (adjective)
What are some synonyms for person?
What are some words that share a root or word element with person?
What are some words that often get used in discussing person?
What are some words person may be commonly confused with?
How is person used in real life?
Person is most often used as a general term for one human being.
I am 100% a dog person, I want 7392827 when I’m older
— hrvy (@HRVY) December 15, 2017
Sorry for talking about myself in third person guys I apologize
— J (@JVCKJ) September 3, 2015
Love is when a person randomly came into your life and become the most important person to you
— aishx._x (@x_aishx) October 18, 2021
Try using person!
Is person used correctly in the following sentence?
I am clearly not a plant person because I keep forgetting to water mine!
Words That Use -person
What does -person mean?
The combining form -person is used like a suffix meaning “person.” It is used in everyday and technical terms, most often to indicate a person who performs a particular job or function. It’s especially used as a replacement for gender-specific endings like -man and -woman.
The form -person originally comes from Latin persōna, meaning “role” (in life, a play, or a tale).
What are variants of -person?
Just as the word people is popularly used as a plural form of the word person, the ending -people is often used as a plural form of -person, as in salespeople.
The form -person is a gender-neutral form of the gendered forms -man and -woman. For example, salesperson is the gender-neutral form of salesman and saleswoman.
Use of -person has increased as gender-neutral terms have become more commonly preferred. Some terms are changed in other ways, such as mail carrier being used instead of mailman. Still, some people may prefer to use the gender-specific version of a term that applies to them—a mailman may prefer to call himself a mailman and congresswoman may prefer to call herself a congresswoman, for example.
For more guidance, check out the Thesaurus.com guide to gender-neutral language.
Examples of -person
The form -woman is used in many different words and is especially associated with professions, such as businessperson, spokesperson, and cameraperson. Most terms that end with -person can be made gender-specific, such as with -man or -woman endings (or others, such as -lady). However, the opposite isn’t always true. The common gender-neutral form of fireman is firefighter (not fireperson).
What are some words that use the combining form -person?
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
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