personage
Americannoun
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an important or distinguished person
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another word for person
a strange personage
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rare a figure in literature, history, etc
Related Words
See person.
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of personage
First recorded in 1425–75; late Middle English: “body or image (statue, portrait) of a person” (from Old French ), from Medieval Latin persōnāgium. See person, -age
Explanation
In history and literature, a personage is an important person, a notable figure whose actions and decisions have a major impact on events. The word personage comes from the Latin persona, meaning "mask" or "character." In fact, a character in a play is sometimes referred to as a personage. Outside of theater, the word typically refers to someone of great significance or distinction, such as a monarch, a president, or an influential cultural leader with impressive achievements or clout. On the other hand, personage can also be used more broadly to refer to any person, important or not.
Vocabulary lists containing personage
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
He continues to use it because he finds that “a fictional personage does exert a slightly disinhibiting effect” on his writing—“always in the service of truth, of course.”
From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 6, 2026
The omnipresent Emcee, a queer Jack Be Nimble, can’t be dragged to the camps because he is a thematic stage presence, more a spirit than a depicted personage with a before/during/after narrative governed by reality.
From Salon • Oct. 4, 2025
One day, Lockshin and his classmates marched across the cobblestones of Red Square to Vladimir Lenin’s tomb to pay tribute to the waxy corpse of the country’s most sacred personage.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 10, 2024
Security Council’s five permanent members, only the United States, in the personage of President Joe Biden, spoke.
From Seattle Times • Sep. 26, 2023
The Latin names of the gods are, of course, used; and the Latin forms in the case of any personage who has a Latin as well as a Greek name.
From "Mythology: Timeless Tales of Gods and Heroes" by Edith Hamilton
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.
