charactery

American  

[kar-ik-tuh-ree, -tree] / ˈkær ɪk tə ri, -tri /

noun

1. the use of characters or symbols for the expression of meaning.

2. characters or symbols collectively.

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charactery British  

/ ˈkærɪktərɪ, -trɪ /

noun

1. the use of symbols to express thoughts

2. the group of symbols so used

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Etymology

Origin of charactery

First recorded in 1580–90; character + -y ³

Example Sentences

Meanwhile, across town, Mr. Pratt was having what he describes as “an identity crisis as an actor,” vacillating between what he calls “fat charactery guy and in-shape charactery guy.”

From New York Times • Jul. 24, 2014

I had failed even to make fruitful use of the one skill I did possess—the art of charactery.

From "The Shakespeare Stealer" by Gary L. Blackwood

Without thinking, I wrote them in Dr. Bright's charactery.

From "The Shakespeare Stealer" by Gary L. Blackwood

Lips have paled, the body has lost its freshness, the flesh its gloss and colour; the years of union have written their charactery in the face.

From ?mile Verhaeren by Zweig, Stefan

Romance was in no further need of vindication, when all Scott's library of prose and verse stood back of her, and   "High-piled books in charactery   Held, like rich garners, the full-ripened grain."

From A History of English Romanticism in the Nineteenth Century by Beers, Henry A. (Henry Augustin)