dramatis personae
[ dram-uh-tis per-soh-nee, drah-muh- ]
/ ˈdræm ə tɪs pərˈsoʊ ni, ˈdrɑ mə- /
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noun
(used with a plural verb) the characters in a play.
(used with a singular verb) a list of the characters preceding the text of a play.
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Origin of dramatis personae
1720–30; <Latin: characters of the play
Words nearby dramatis personae
dramatic, dramatic irony, dramatic monologue, dramatics, dramatic unities, dramatis personae, dramatist, dramatization, dramatize, dramaturge, dramaturgy
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2021
Example sentences from the Web for dramatis personae
British Dictionary definitions for dramatis personae
dramatis personae
/ (ˈdrɑːmətɪs pəˈsəʊnaɪ) /
pl n (often functioning as singular)
the characters or a list of characters in a play or story
the main personalities in any situation or event
Word Origin for dramatis personae
C18: from New Latin
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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Cultural definitions for dramatis personae
dramatis personae
[ (dram-uh-tis puhr-soh-nee, drah-muh-tis puhr-soh-neye) ]
A Latin expression for “cast of characters.” It means literally “the persons of the drama” and is occasionally used at the beginning of scripts for plays as the title of the list of characters.
notes for dramatis personae
The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.