| 释义 |
personn. Origin: Of multiple origins. Partly a borrowing from French. Partly a borrowing from Latin. Etymons: French parsone; Latin persōna. Etymology: < (i) Anglo-Norman parsone, parsoune, person, persoun, Anglo-Norman and Old French, Middle French persone, personne (French personne ) presence, appearance (c1135), important person (c1140 in Anglo-Norman), the body (c1170), individual human being (1174 in Anglo-Norman), person of the Trinity (1174 in Anglo-Norman), grammatical person (first half of the 14th cent. in Anglo-Norman), juridical person (1481 in Anglo-Norman), and its etymon (ii) classical Latin persōna mask used by a player, character in a play, dramatic role, the part played by a person in life, character, role, position, individual personality, juridical person, important person, personage, human being in general, grammatical person, in post-classical Latin also person of the Trinity (early 3rd cent. in Tertullian), appearance, stature (9th cent.), of unknown origin; perhaps a loanword (compare Etruscan ϕersu , apparently denoting a mask). Compare Old Occitan, Occitan persona (mid 12th cent.), Catalan persona (1117), Spanish persona (first half of the 13th cent.), Portuguese pessoa (1267), Italian persona (a1200). Compare parson n. (originally the same word, but now differentiated in form).Several of the uses of classical Latin (and post-classical Latin) persōna are after corresponding uses of Hellenistic Greek πρόσωπον (see prosopon n.), e.g. in grammar (compare sense 8) and theology (compare sense 6a). In persons of the drama (see sense 1) after dramatis personae n. In to respect no person (see Phrases 1) the word originally rendered post-classical Latin personam of the Vulgate (which however has in some places faciem ), the corresponding Greek being πρόσωπον face, countenance, person, often in the compound προσωπολήπτειν to accept the face of, rendering Hebrew nāśā' pānīm to lift up the face (towards someone), to show favour (originally referring to God's countenance being raised towards a person upon whom he bestows favour; compare Exodus 6:26, Deuteronomy 10:17). With singular person (see sense 7) compare Anglo-Norman persone singuler (a1325 or earlier). With in one's (own) person (see Phrases 2) compare Anglo-Norman en sa persone (second half of the 12th cent. or earlier), classical Latin in suā personā . With in (one's) proper person (see Phrases 2) compare Anglo-Norman and Old French, Middle French en (sa) propre persone (c1250), post-classical Latin in persona propria (6th cent.), in propria persona (a1180, 1264 in British sources). With in (the) person of (see Phrases 3) compare Anglo-Norman en la persone de (second half of the 12th cent.). With in person (see Phrases 4) compare Middle French en persone (1464). I. A role taken by a person. the world > action or operation > behaviour > [noun] > assumption of behaviour or attitudes > part played or assumed by a person society > leisure > the arts > performance arts > drama > part or character > [noun] society > leisure > the arts > performance arts > drama > part or character > [noun] > collectively c1230 (?a1200) (Corpus Cambr.) (1962) 67 Pellican..haueð an oðer cunde. þet hit is aa leane. for þi..dauið eueneð him þer to in ancre persone. In ancre steuene. 1538 R. Pole Let. in J. Strype (1822) I. App. 326 Procuring against me by such mean to my undoing, as was never heard of the like in Christendom, against ony that bear that person, that I do at this time. 1560 J. Daus tr. J. Sleidane f. cvij They susteyne the persones of intercessours. 1600 W. Shakespeare iii. i. 55 He comes to disfigure, or to present the person of Moone-shine. View more context for this quotation a1616 W. Shakespeare (1623) iv. i. 86 Well, in her person, I say I will not haue you. View more context for this quotation 1653 Bp. J. Taylor i. xxi. 278 No man can long put on a person and act a part, but his evill manners will peep through the corners of the white robe. 1670 D. Lloyd (ed. 2) 14 To fit them by degrees for the person they are to sustain. 1703 J. Oldmixon 47 (note) He us'd his Invention the more freely, as writing in the Person of a Poet. 1781 S. Johnson Lyttelton in X. 11 The names of his [sc. Lyttelton's] persons too often enable the reader to anticipate their conversation. 1807 W. Wordsworth Ode in II. 153 Filling..his ‘humourous stage’ With all the Persons, down to palsied Age. View more context for this quotation 1895 G. B. Shaw in 16 Feb. 217/2 The persons of the drama belong rather to the world of imagination than of reality. 1948 M. Sharp ii. iii. 72 Thus admitted, so to speak, among the persons of the drama, the young American rose to his feet. 1986 Oct. 87/1 I take on a different person with every song I sing because each evokes a different emotion. II. A human being, and related senses. 2. the world > people > person > [noun] ?c1225 (?a1200) (Cleo. C.vi) (1972) 236 Abute sunne liggeð six þinges. þet hit hulieð..Persone. stude. time. Manere. tale. cause. Persone. þe dude þe sunne oðer wið hwam me hit dude. 1348 in C. Welch (1902) I. 3 (MED) Also that non persone ne estraunger wirk ne bere suche maner vessel of peauter in þe Cite to sel. c1390 G. Chaucer 2330 Biwrey nat youre conseil to no persone [v.r. man]. c1440 (a1349) R. Rolle (1921) 11 The fifte comandement es þat ‘thou slaa na man..’ And also here es forboden vn-ryghtwyse hurtynge of any persone. c1450 W. Lichefeld Complaint of God (Lamb. 853) l. 216 in F. J. Furnivall (1903) 205 In noes tyme, by-cause of synne..Saue .viij. persoones, drowned were al. 1467–8 in Hist. MSS Comm.: 10th Rep.: App. Pt. V: MSS Marquis of Ormonde &c. (1885) 304 in (C. 4576-I) XLII. 1 That this acte be not prejudicial ne hurt to no parson nor parsones. 1531 T. Elyot ii. f. 169 No one man..can be in all places, or do as many thinges well, at one tyme, as many persones may do. 1611 Luke xv. 7 Ninety and nine iust persons . View more context for this quotation 1659 B. Walton 169 Papists, Atheists, and fanatic persons. 1728 H. Fielding iii. x. 39 There is a certain Person in the World, who, in a certain Person's Eye, is a more agreeable Person, than any Person, amongst all the Persons, whom Persons think agreeable Persons. 1764 87/1 The robin..comes in..unterrified by the number of persons. 1827 T. Jarman (ed. 3) II. 337 The bequest did not spring from a parent or person standing in the place of a parent. 1890 W. E. H. Lecky VII. 46 A light man, in whom no person can place any confidence. 1942 P. H. Abrahams ii. iii. 113 As soon as she saw it was a white person she ran back into the house. 1992 M. Blonsky vii. 166 I found myself relayed from person to person. the mind > attention and judgement > importance > [noun] > one who is important the mind > attention and judgement > esteem > reputation > fame or renown > famous or eminent person > [noun] a1425 (?a1400) G. Chaucer (Hunterian) 3202 On hir heed she hadde a crowne Hir semede wel an high persoune. c1425 J. Lydgate (Augustus A.iv) i. 1193 (MED) It were pite þat..any man hyndre schulde or dere So worþi persones. 1531 T. Elyot f. 68v But the moste honorable exercise.., and that besemeth the astate of euery noble persone, is to ryde suerly & clene, on a great horse. 1579 in D. Masson (1880) 1st Ser. III. 205 Johnne Cheisholme, comptrollar and secund persoun of the artailyeirie. 1604 E. Grimeston tr. J. de Acosta v. viii. 348 If it were a person of qualitie, they gave apparrell to all such as came to the interrement. 1673 J. Dryden i. i. 1 A man of my parts and tallents, though he be but a Valet de Chambre, is a person. 1709 No. 116. ¶1 She had a Mind to look as big and burly as other Persons of her Quality. 1769 W. Robertson II. vi. 417 Immediately the chief persons in the state assembled. 1804 ‘E. de Acton’ II. 26 Their ultimatum was obtained, and they were considered as persons of consequence. 1882 Mar. 550/1 The administrator..has..various lands and casitas of his own—a person of substance, in fact. 1922 S. Lewis iii. 28 Babbit felt himself a person of importance, one whose name even busy garagemen remembered. 1963 E. H. Schafer ii. 52 The great Hsüan Tsung himself, like many other noble persons, was a trained performer on the wether drum. 2004 (Nexis) 8 Jan. 1 The prosecutor called Connelly's actions as a person of rank in a police department ‘offensive.’ the world > people > person > [noun] > distinguished from animal or thing 1481 W. Caxton tr. i. xiv. 43 Her [sc. nature's] werke is alway hool..be it in persones or in bestes. 1530 J. Palsgrave 580/1 I have a person or a beest accordyng to my mynde. 1589 G. Puttenham iii. xix. 199 We do sodainly flye out & either speake or exclaime at some other person or thing. 1623 J. Bingham tr. Xenophon 7 The Cilicians, abundance of whose persons and goods, we haue preid and carrie with vs. 1678 T. Sprat Serm. preached before King in (1710) 168 A zeal for persons is far more easy to be perverted, than a zeal for things. 1766 W. Blackstone II. ii. 16 The objects of dominion or property are things, as contradistinguished from persons. 1814 W. Wordsworth ii. 63 An overweening trust was raised; and fear Cast out,—alike of person and of thing. View more context for this quotation 1893 C. Patmore 107 In every person who has a right to be called a person, as distinguished from an animal, there are two distinct consciences. 1970 M. Sarton 11 Nov. (1973) 57 Women are at last becoming persons first and wives second. 1994 Aug. 112/3 Respect for a companion, whether the companion is a dog, a cat, a horse or a person is very important. the world > people > person > woman > [noun] the mind > goodness and badness > inferiority or baseness > inferior person > [noun] > held in contempt > male society > society and the community > social class > the common people > low rank or condition > low or vulgar person > [noun] 1704 J. Swift Ep. Ded. 2 It is amazing to me, that this Person should have Assurance in the face of the Sun, to go about persuading Your Highness, that our Age is almost wholly illiterate. 1782 F. Burney III. vi. i. 222 Do you suppose a young lady of her fortune would want to take advantage of a person in trade? 1860 W. Collins (new ed.) II. 347 ‘This person,’ says he, meaning me, ‘this person will stay in the room, till I can send for the necessary assistance.’ 1939 23 Aug. 198/1 She was a sort of secretary person down at the works. 1994 J. Churchill xi. 96 That vicious Elaine person..tried to nominate you for secretary. the world > people > person > [noun] > of either sex, as potential employee society > occupation and work > worker > workers according to conditions > [noun] > employee > potential employee 1768 11 Apr. (advt.) Wanted, A Person that understands the nailing business in its different branches. 1861 23 Nov. 3/1 Wanted, persons to appoint local agents for the sale of agricultural goods. 1963 9 Dec. 1/3 Responsible person required immediately; help run fully automated Chelsea flat. 1977 26 Aug. 14/3 (advt.) Person required for general cleaning duties in car showroom. 1978 G. Vidal vii. 172 Can she get a cleaning woman or person for less than three dollars and fifty cents an hour to help her homemake? 1988 15 Jan. 24/1 (advt.) Wanted immediately. A responsible person to manage a beauty salon. the world > relative properties > kind or sort > generality > [noun] > state of being non-specific > unspecified thing(s) > anyone ?a1789 W. Blake Island in Moon iv, in (1972) 48 ‘What! don't you like to go to church?’ ‘No’, said Mrs Nannicantipot. ‘I think a person may be as good “at home”.’ 1790 J. Woodforde 1 Apr. (1927) III. 180 It was very cold indeed all the Day with a strong Easterly Wind. It cut through a Person. 1806 M. Lewis Jrnl. 1 Feb. in (1990) VI. 265 A person would suppose that the forming of a large canoe with an instrument like this was the work of several years. 1908 W. B. Yeats iii. 100 It makes a person be thinking of the four last ends, death and judgement, heaven and hell. 1978 L. Duncan xv. 195 A person does get hungry sometimes for a little something sweet. 1994 G. Kinnell 79 Of course, before things get worse, a person could run. the world > people > person > [noun] > as having character or qualities 1807 Feb. 67/1 The return of the carriage without any assistance from the work~person. 1886 E. Ward iii. 50 A saving of trouble..both to the tradesperson and the wearer. 1920 June 86 Salesperson, a name intended to apply to employee of either sex. 1971 11 Sept. 166 A group of women psychologists thanked the board for using the word ‘chair~person’ rather than ‘chairman’. 1973 1 Mar. 286/3 Chairperson Mitchell and her henchpersons looked at the way education brainwashes girls. 1978 29 Nov. 119/3 We saw nothing in cine to rival the spectacular application of high-technology design to still cameras for everyman (sorry, everyperson). 1991 (BNC) 26 July 64 Weaners..come under the watchful eye of John Knighton, the farm's head stockperson. the mind > emotion > love > liking or favourable regard > [noun] > enthusiasm (for something) > enthusiast for person or thing 1953 D. Bryant i. iv. 23 Real cat people have a natural understanding of cats; they just seem to have ‘a way with cats’.] 1966 30 Apr. 4/4 I'm a people person, so I want a people job. 1971 ‘D. Halliday’ i. 6 I am not..a ‘night person’, and had no desire to see a..niterie. 1986 R. Littell ii. vii. 152 Millie is basically a dog person. 1995 July 57/1 I pick up a friend, put them down and move on to the next one. That's a very bad characteristic, but I'm a one-person person. 3. the world > relative properties > kind or sort > individual character or quality > [noun] > individuality or selfhood > self > one's, etc., self a1382 (Douce 369(1)) (1850) Prov. xix. 6 Manye herien [a1425 L.V. onouren; L. colunt] the persone of the myȝti. c1390 G. Chaucer 2487 Ye shal do youre diligence to kepe youre persone and to warnestore youre hous. c1400 (a1376) W. Langland (Trin. Cambr. R.3.14) (1960) A. iii. 166 I can nouȝt..depraue þi persone with a proud herte. a1470 T. Malory (Winch. Coll.) 45 Ye ar the falsyst lady of the worde and the moste traytoures unto the kynges person. 1523 T. Cromwell Speech to Parl. in R. B. Merriman (1902) I. 37 I am so extremely desyrows that the noble parson yf [sic; perh. read of] my saide Prynce showlde tarry withyn Hys Realme. 1548 f. liiiiv He [sc. Henry VII] espyed and tried oute suche as he knewe..to beare no good wyll..towarde his person. 1605 F. Bacon i. sig. I2v Traian..was for his person not learned. View more context for this quotation 1651 T. Hobbes i. xv. 75 Robbery and Violence, are Injuries to the Person of the Common-wealth. a1715 Bp. G. Burnet (1724) I. 368 His circumstances may deserve that his character should be given, tho' his person did not. 1759 A. Smith i. i They [sc. our senses] never did, and never can, carry us beyond our own person. 1824 W. Scott III. x. 310 Let me first..see your Majesty's sacred person in such safety as can now be provided for it. 1853 F. D. Maurice ix. 148 Asserting the dignity of his own person, or at all events of his own office. 1876 J. B. Mozley iii. 61 We observe..to begin with, that our bodies are not we,—not our proper persons. 1938 tr. E. Mounier i. 1 The whole complex of implements man needs for the development of his person. 1975 J. Russ 138 To resolve contrarieties, unite them in your own person. 2003 (Nexis) 22 May A court in Rabat found Ali Lamrabet guilty of ‘insulting the King's person’..by publishing satirical articles and cartoons. the world > space > place > presence > [noun] > presence in person > actual person a1438 (1940) i. 112 (MED) Whan þe jayler knew þerof, he cam hys propyr persone & browt hir befor þe Stywarde. 1480 W. Caxton ccxliii. 289 Whan they were y wedded..the kyng his owne persone brought and ladde this worthy lady to the bisshops place of wynchestre. 1509 S. Hawes (1845) xxx. 146 Up than I went where as her person stode. 1585 T. Washington tr. N. de Nicolay iii. x. 86 [They] do wrastle before his person two and two. a1616 W. Shakespeare (1623) iii. iv. 127 How say'st thou that Macduff denies his person At our great bidding? View more context for this quotation 1690–1700 sig. Divv The President..without his persoun [printed personn], shall no waightie matters be determined or agreed on. 1732 T. Lediard tr. J. Terrasson II. ix. 309 I hope to be of service..with my troops and person.] 4. the world > life > the body > [noun] the world > life > the body > [noun] > with regard to appearance > with clothing and adornment c1390 G. Chaucer 591 Ye thynke that the cursede Iewes ne dismembred nat ynough the preciouse persone of Crist. a1425 (c1385) G. Chaucer (1987) ii. 1267 Hire liked al in-fere, His person, his aray, his look, his chere. 1464 in 9th Rep. Royal Comm. Hist. MSS: Pt. 1 (1883) 230/1 in (C. 3773) XXXVII. 1 I wyll haue a ston vpon my graue of marbyll with an image therinne aftyr my persone. 1526 Coloss. ii. 1 As many as have not sene my parson in the flesshe. c1540 (?a1400) 2139 Hit sittis vs all, ffor to proffer our persons & our pure goodes, To venge of our velany and our vile harme. a1616 W. Shakespeare (1623) ii. ii. 204 For her owne person, It beggerd all discription. View more context for this quotation 1692 tr. C. de Saint-Évremond 30 The Senate..sent to advise Pyrrhus to take care of his person. 1729 W. Law iv. 62 It is very possible for a man, that is proud of his estate..to disregard his dress, and person. 1766 O. Goldsmith II. xii. 200 It was her fortune, not her person, that induced me to wish for this match. 1825 W. Scott Talisman vii, in IV. 135 She wore not upon her person any female ornament of what kind soever. 1876 ‘G. Eliot’ I. i. iii. 47 One of his advantages was a fine person. 1960 J. Barth iii. xv. 695 She grunted and scratched about her person like a jackanapes picking fleas. 1992 B. Morgan vi. 85 She washes as much blood as possible from her person. the world > life > the body > [noun] > with regard to appearance c1390 G. Chaucer 3132 Thow art a maister whan thou art at hom, No poure cloistrer ne no novys..And ther with al of brawnes and of bones A wel farynge persone for the nones. c1395 G. Chaucer 25 A fair persone he was and fortunat. a1450 (a1338) R. Mannyng (Lamb.) (1887) i. 14913 (MED) So fare persones, so bright of ble. a1530 (c1425) Andrew of Wyntoun (Royal) ix. 2228 A seymly persone in stature. 1539 Gen. xxxix. 6 And Josep[h] was a goodly persone, & a well fauored. 1667 J. Milton ii. 110 Belial, in act more graceful and humane; A fairer person lost not Heav'n. View more context for this quotation 1768 L. Sterne II. 174 I ask'd her if she remember'd a pale thin person of a man. 1805 H. Lee V. 27 ‘What person of a man?’ ‘Very handsome, if he was not so pale.’ the world > life > the body > sex organs > [noun] 1824 c. 83 §4 Every Person wilfully, openly, lewdly and obscenely exposing his Person in any Street..or in any place of public Resort, with intent to insult any Female.., shall be deemed a Rogue and Vagabond. 1853 31 iii. 123/1 What do you mean in law by exposing his person? The indictment should have been for exposing his private parts. 1911 13 June 7/3 He let go my arms, held me round the waist with his right arm and used his left hand. He stooped to do it. He put his hand on my person. 1973 R. E. Megarry ii. 165 The curious convention whereby for many years past the word ‘person’ was used anatomically in prosecutions for indecency. 1990 (Nexis) 1 Nov. The defendant was convicted of having wilfully and indecently exposed his person in a street to the annoyance of passengers. the world > people > person > [noun] > as rational or conscious being 1659 J. Pearson viii. 623 All which words are nothing else but so many descriptions of a person, a person hearing, a person receiving, a person testifying. a1692 R. Saunders (1701) i. 18 A Person is an Individual Substance, having Understanding, and is no part of another thing. 1694 J. Locke (new ed.) ii. xxvii. 181 We must consider what Person stands for; which, I think, is a thinking, intelligent Being, that has reason and reflection, and can consider it self as it self. 1877 E. R. Conder ii. 72 We can address God as a Person, and sustain..relations [with Him] such as are possible only between persons. 1962 29 219 For every feature of a ‘person’ or ‘mind’ regarded as distinctively human..there..possibly will exist an analogus [sic] feature in a machine or robot. 1994 July 43 Will artificial intelligence develop to the point that a computer or robot could qualify as a person? III. Technical uses. 6. the world > the supernatural > deity > Christian God > the Trinity > [noun] > person of a1325 (c1250) (1968) l. 55 Ðhre persones and on reed, On migt and on godfulhed. c1350 (a1333) William of Shoreham (1902) 135 (MED) Nou we habbeþ uader and sone Ase hye beþ ryȝt ine persone And þan-cheysoun. Wat may þe holy gost nou be? Persone þrydde in trynyte. a1400 (a1325) (Trin. Cambr.) 288 (MED) Þerfore he is þe trinite, þat is, o god & persones þre. a1425 (a1400) (Galba & Harl.) (1863) 14 The sam God..Þat woned ever in his godhede And in thre persons and anhede. a1500 (a1400) J. Wyclif (1880) 351 (MED) Þe holy gost is þe laste persone of god. a1586 O Lux beata Trinitas in W. A. Craigie (1919) I. lvi. 199 Now fader sone and halie gaist Souerain god in personis thre Thow bring ws quhair thy Ioy is maist In hewin euermore thy face to se. 1644 J. Bulwer 143 The arme shadowes out the second Person in the Trinity. 1715 R. South IV. 284 A Plurality of Persons, or Personal Subsistences in the Divine Nature, is a great Mystery. 1715 D. Defoe I. i. i. 21 Jesus Christ is essentially God, tho' in a second Person. a1774 A. Tucker (1777) III. ii. 98 The divine Persons differ in another manner than human persons. 1833 J. H. Newman v. i. 365 The word Person which we venture to use in speaking of those three distinct and real modes in which it has pleased Almighty God to reveal to us His being. 1883 P. Schaff et al. II. 1578 They are Macedonians, esteeming the Holy Spirit as no person, but only an influence or emanation. 1922 J. Joyce ii. xv. [Circe] 553 Where's the third person of the Blessed Trinity? 1993 29 Mar. 12/2 The traditional Trinitarian language for the divine persons—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit—is always maintained. the world > the supernatural > deity > Christian God > the Trinity > the Son or Christ > [noun] > dual personality of J. Gaytryge (York Min.) (1901) 26 (MED) He, god and man bathe in a person, Was..born of that blissed maiden. a1387 J. Trevisa tr. R. Higden (St. John's Cambr.) (1874) V. 231 (MED) In Crist is oon persone and tweie kyndes, þe Godhede and þe manhede. c1400 (?a1384) J. Wyclif (1871) III. 502 (MED) Þo persoun of Crist is verrey God and mon. 1551 S. Gardiner f. 123 In the mysterie of Christes person, there is no transition of the deitie into the humanite, or humanite into the deitie. 1597 R. Hooker v. lii. 110 Nestorius..did..mis-inferre that in Christ those natures can by no coniunction make one person. 1635 T. Jackson 75 The Onenesse of person in the Sonne of God, Christ Jesus, God and man. a1679 T. Goodwin ii. v In our Christ, God and man are become one person. 1760 W. Law 2 The one Saviour is manifested in and by Jesus Christ, one undivided Person. 1767 C. Wesley & J. Wesley ii. 35 The nature, both of God and man In Jesus' single Person meet. 1855 T. T. Lynch (1872) ii. 34 Christianity shows itself in immense breadths of time and life, which imply Profundity in the Person of Christ. 1883 P. Schaff et al. II. 1204/1 Origen..urges the originality of the person of Christ. a1896 H. E. Clay (1910) 44 Our Elder Brother, Breath of God and man In one sweet person. 1978 I. Kesarcodi-Watson & I. Kesarcodi-Watson tr. V. Lossky iii. 93 The humanity of Christ..never existed outside of the person of Christ. 1991 5 Jan. 43/8 Rational thought about the person of Christ dissolves into a set of paradoxes which serve only to safeguard the mystery. the world > existence and causation > existence > reality or real existence or actuality > [noun] > the reality as opposed to what is apparent 1548 E. Gest sig. Civ Semblable though the sayd body [of Christ] be presented in ye bred, howbeit, it is not become one person therwith. society > law > legal capacity > [noun] > legal person c1390 G. Chaucer 2625 Right as a singuler persone [v.rr. person; man] synneth in takynge vengeance of another man, right so synneth the iuge if he do no vengeance of hem that it han disserued. 1444 V. 75/1 Yey, by that same name, mowe be persones able to purchase Londez and Tenementz of all manere persones. 1475 VI. 150/1 Almaner Londes, Tenementes..and Pensions, which any persone Temporell, corporat or not corporat..then had, held, posseded, or occupied. 1689 S. Johnson 40 The next thing requisite to a Person being Commissionated is that he be a Legal Person. 1704 J. Harris I. (at cited word) A Writ that lies for Prebendaries, or other Spiritual Persons. 1765 W. Blackstone I. i. 123 Natural persons are such as the God of nature formed us; artificial are such as are created and devised by human laws for the purposes of society and government; which are called corporations or bodies politic. 1833 c. 74 §1 The word ‘Person’ shall extend to a Body Politic, Corporate, or Collegiate, as well as an Individual. 1861 W. Bell 219/1 Two or more persons are bound conjunctly and severally to perform an obligation. 1900 20 Apr. 7/5 A Bill..extending to juridical persons, that is, duly registered corporations or partnerships, the right to engage in mining. 1959 II. 1334/2 In jurisprudence, a person is the object of rights and duties, that is, capable of having rights and of being liable to duties, while a thing is the subject of rights and duties. 1992 A. Pannett (ed. 3) 52 A limited company is an artificial legal person. the mind > language > linguistics > study of grammar > other grammatical categories or concepts > [noun] > person a1398 J. Trevisa tr. Bartholomaeus Anglicus (BL Add.) f. 12 If þe nominatif case & þe verbe discordiþ in persone & in noumbre, þanne þe resoun is in congrue. c1450 J. Capgrave (Arun. 396) (1893) i. 259 (MED) She lerned..The declynacions, þe personys, the modys, þe tens. 1530 J. Palsgrave Introd. 27 Euery substantyue is onely of the thyrde parson. 1585 tr. P. de La Ramée ii. i. 62 A Person is a speciall end of a verbe. 1612 J. Brinsley (1669) 27 Every Vocative case is of the second Person. a1687 W. Petty (1691) 97 The Quakers..speak to one another in the second Person and singular Number. 1764 W. Primatt 111 The Dorians penacuted verbs ending ον,..that is, provided they were third persons plural. 1845 J. Stoddart Gram. in (1847) I. 62/1 In many Languages the person is necessarily expressed by a pronoun. This is universally the case in the Chinese,..the verb being alike in all the persons. 1886 Oct. 898 The pronoun of the first or second person, used datively. 1951 V. Nabokov i. 17 In addressing me, a small boy, he used the plural of the second person. 1987 6 313 The Germanic languages inherited from Indo-European a system of representing the person and number of the subject in the verb. the world > life > biology > balance of nature > organisms in interrelationship > [noun] > aggregate or colony > individual of 1876 (Royal Soc.) 165 568 The terms Zooid and Individual are used here with the significations originally proposed by Huxley. The former is the ‘Individual of the fifth order, Person’ of Haeckel, the latter the ‘Individual of the sixth order, Stock or Cormus’ of Haeckel. 1878 F. J. Bell & E. R. Lankester tr. C. Gegenbaur 117 In the Pennatulidæ..some, and at times many, persons in a colony are less well-developed. 1894 28 29 The colony is..very closely and luxuriantly branched, and the two kinds of persons are both carried on the same stalk. 1992 M. Stachowitsch 35/1 Person, zooid. Phrasesa1382 (Bodl. 959) (1969) Isa. xlii. 2 He shal not..take persone [a1425 L.V. take a persoone; L. accipiet personam]. c1384 (Douce 369(2)) (1850) Luke xx. 21 Thou takist not persoone of man [L. non accipis personam], but thou techist in treuth the wey of God. a1400 (a1325) (Vesp.) 19944 (MED) Godd, þat mad for us ranscun, Bihaldes noght mans persun [Fr. persoun]. ?1577 L. Ramsay sig. Bj Hungrie, to worke double yll: Respecting no person, but all I would kill. 1635 G. Wither iv. 258 God respects no persons; neither layes A stumbling blocke in any of our Waies. 1636 A. Montgomerie (new ed.) 1072 For wee are equal for you all. No persons wee respect. 1649 J. Milton xxviii. 227 Shee [sc. justice] it is most truly, who accepts no Person, and exempts none from the severity of her stroke. 1776 W. J. Mickle in tr. L. de Camoens iii. 140 (note) He respected no persons, and his inflexible severity never digressed from the line of strict justice. 1870 O. A. Wadsworth 161 We may think ourselves small, or mean, or useless, but let us remember that God respects no persons, but watches all hearts. 1919 17 Apr. 13/2 The Times will continue undeviatingly to pursue its course, looking neither to the left or right,..respecting no persons, being subservient to none. 1992 (Nexis) 26 Sept. 10 As sun and rain fall on the just and unjust alike, disease and disaster equally respects [sic] no persons. 2000 (Nexis) 29 Sept. The breakdown of law and order in a country is like the flu germ. It respects no person and does not discriminate in the selection of its victims. P2. in one's (own) person adv. the world > space > place > presence > present [phrase] > in person a1393 J. Gower (Fairf.) Prol. 71 (MED) The fortune of this worldes chance..noman in his persone Mai knowe, bot the god al one. a1425 (c1385) G. Chaucer (1987) ii. 1487 Deiphebus..Com hire to prey, in his propre persone, To holde hym on the morwe compaignie. 1472–3 VI. 52/1 The said John Myrfeld, Richard Ledys, and either of theym, in their propre persone and persones, appiere afore your Highnes in your Bench at Westminster. 1526 W. Bonde i. sig. Dvi He wolde be in his owne persone, the example of our hole iourney. 1560 J. Daus tr. J. Sleidane f. ccclxxv They haue ofte intreated you, sometime by their Ambassadours, and somtime in their own persons. 1611 2 Sam. xvii. 11 Goe to battell in thine owne person . View more context for this quotation 1659 T. Hooker x. 53 A Traveller, that in his own person hath taken a view of many Coasts. 1700 J. Tyrrell II. 815 No Constable shall distrein any Knight to give Money for Castle-Guard, if he will perform it in his own Person. 1796 (1813) 17 The pivot leader..will begin in his own person to circle behind the line. 1867 1 287/2 These dinners he must eat in hall in his own person. 1894 Sept. 207 Anxious to try, in his own person, the effect of wedding what one may call the Prickly Young Person. 1937 12 May 13/6 Leave the job to someone who is prepared to do the right thing and who is prepared to suffer in his own proper person. 2000 (Nexis) 30 July 1 j Mrs. Duke now represents herself ‘in proper person’ as the case finally heads to trial. the world > relative properties > kind or sort > individual character or quality > individual [phrase] > in his, its, etc., self > in one's own character a1402 J. Trevisa tr. (Harl.) 31 We graunteþ þat clerkes in her owne persoone beþ fre, but nouȝt þei þat lede her lif as lewide men & nouȝt as clerkes to þe worschipe..of oure Lord. 1591 J. Harington tr. L. Ariosto Pref. Another fault is, that he [sc. Arisoto] speaketh so much in his own person by digression, which they say..is against the rules of Poetrie. 1625 K. Long tr. J. Barclay i. xii. 31 Sometimes..hee was seene an old man, sometimes younger, sometimes in his owne person. 1692 J. Washington tr. J. Milton v. 133 Not such as the Poet would speak, if he were to speak in his own person. 1753 J. Warton in C. Pitt tr. Virgil Æneid ix, in J. Warton et al. tr. Virgil IV. 48 (note) The poet says but little in his own person, but makes his actors say a great deal. 1840 T. De Quincey Style: No. II in Sept. 398/1 What man in his senses would employ it [sc. Doric dialect] in a grave work, and speaking in his own person? 1875 B. Jowett tr. Plato (ed. 2) III. 266 The poet is speaking in his own person. 1920 T. S. Eliot 73 If a writer wishes to give the effect of speech he must positively give the effect of himself talking in his own person or in one of his rôles. 1999 (Nexis) 24 Feb. (Literary section) 7 One could speak, like Lear's fool, by not speaking in one's own person or by seeming to speak in jest. P3. in (the) person of phr. c1400 (c1378) W. Langland (Laud 581) (1869) B. xviii. 333 (MED) In my paleys, paradys, in persone [v.r. likenesse] of an addre, Falseliche þow fettest þere þynge þat I loued. 1537 W. Turner tr. Urbanus Regius sig. Cii The Apostel doth not here speake in the person of wycked men, for wycked men do not consent to the law. 1559 W. Cuningham 11 Whan as he speaketh vnder the parson of Phebus. 1620 tr. G. Boccaccio I. ii. v. f. 92v When the Magnifico, in the person of the Lady, had spoken thus, then hee returned her this answere. 1644 J. Milton 13 Spenser..describing true temperance under the person of Guion, [etc.]. 1712 J. Addison No. 542. ¶1 Had I always written in the Person of the Spectator. 1843 tr. in Oct. 267 Bettina.., the Frau von Arnim, exhibits her eccentric wisdom under the person of Goethe's Mother. 1955 W. R. Matthews 12 The author sets up one or more ‘stooges’, who..can be made to ask just the questions which he, in the person of another character, can answer. 1997 R. Hayman (1998) 14 Entering the trance state, she [sc. the medium]..began to talk in the person of dead relatives. society > authority > delegated authority > action or function of a delegate or deputy > as deputy or representative [phrase] a1425 (?a1400) (Harl. 674) (1944) 56 Þe wonderful..loue þat oure Lorde had to hir, in persone of alle customable synners trewly turnid & clepid to þe grace of contemplacion. a1425 (?a1400) Bk. Priue Counseling in P. Hodgson (1944) 135 (MED) Þerfore to þee, in persone of alle oþer liche vnto þee, I sei þus, [etc.]. 1517 in B. Cusack (1998) 101 In the persoon of my master I doo councell and alsoo monysshe yow to aduoyde hys howse. 1582–3 in D. Masson (1880) 1st Ser. III. 541 A power strange and unsufferabill to be in the persoun of ony inferior subject. 1601 J. Deacon & J. Walker 22 Intending..to portraiture in the person of Iob, an absolute patterne of perfect patience. 1693 J. Dryden Disc. conc. Satire in J. Dryden et al. tr. Juvenal p. vii I might find in France a living Horace and a Juvenal, in the Person of the admirable Boileau. 1776 E. Gibbon I. xiii. 358 After the example of Marcus, he gave himself a colleague in the person of Maximian. 1809 E. A. Kendall I. vii. 60 The company still subsists in the person of the state. 1865 A. Trollope II. xxi. 161 He sent a note by a messenger to Suffolk Street, and the answer to the note came in the person of Mr Grey. 1922 E. J. Lanigan ii. 39/1 Another top-notcher joined them in the person of Thomas Ramsey. 1995 19 June 66/2 In 1992, conspiracism made a dramatic entrance onto the national political stage in the person of Ross Perot. the world > space > place > presence > present [phrase] > in person 1436 in J. H. Fisher et al. (1984) 162 Dispose vs in persone to go to oure Citee of Caunterbury. 1443 in H. Nicolas (1835) V. 248 (MED) He, hering of certaine mysgoevernances in þe Kynges citee of Sarum, yede þider in persone for þe peesing of it. a1540 (c1460) G. Hay tr. (1974) 265 Ane erle, and he be appelit of bataill.., aw nocht till ansuere in persone. 1569 R. Grafton II. 631 King Iames..then beyng there in person. 1600 W. Shakespeare ii. i. 118 You haue..made her serue your vses both in purse and in person . View more context for this quotation 1671 J. Milton 851 Princes of my countrey came in person, Sollicited, commanded, threatn'd, urg'd. View more context for this quotation 1748 B. Robins & R. Walter ii. vi. 205 To return him thanks in person. 1782 J. Priestley II. x. 260 Charlemaigne excused the bishops from serving in person. 1826 E. Irving II. vii. 168 Whether he will in person appear..we dare neither say nor gainsay. 1868 E. A. Freeman II. ix. 310 Others crossed the sea in person. 1920 F. W. Crofts xi. 124 An unexpected call to England prevented me ordering this in person. 1993 28 Mar. e 2/2 If you are unable to attend in person, please respond via E-mail. 1937 K. Kirkness tr. H. Froembgen x. 162 In the circumstances it was no easy matter for the police to keep a check on all persons of interest. 1970 28 June i. 1/2 With the justification that a revolutionary age of assassination, violent political dissent and civil disorder requires it, the Government is building an array of instantly retrievable information on ‘persons of interest’. 1986 (Electronic ed.) 17 Apr. 1 Because he was not charged, reporters painfully called him not a suspect but a ‘person of interest’. 2006 9 July 25/2 One of the eight ‘persons of interest’ named in the..inquest. Compounds C1. a. 1647 T. Fuller iv. v. 145 When wee are time-bound, place-bound, or person bound. 1995 106 220 Indifference..is not person-bound and accordingly transcends all boundaries. 1873 M. Blind tr. D. F. Strauss (ed. 2) xlii. 169 The impersonal but person-shaping All. 2002 83 433 Schools really are in the person-shaping business: they can operate in ways that encourage and reinforce the traits and dispositions just mentioned. b. 1934 14 Sept. 1/2 Human engineering is, ‘the discovery of God and the achievement of a lasting partnership with Him by going to work with Him to make a person-centred world’. 1995 23 Mar. 19/6 Development centres and development programmes tend to be ‘person centred’ in approach while appraisal tends to focus on the current job or next job step. 1974 7 Nov. c2/5 In some states new laws prohibit any type of discrimination in hiring and consequently the Gal Friday has become a Person Friday. 1985 W. Sheed xiii. 281 He stood as witness, alongside his lifelong person-Friday, the astonishing Marigold Hunt, at our Catholic remarriage. 2003 (Nexis) 10 June 54 We do a three-day unit called employment rights and responsibilities. It's about how to avoid becoming person Fridays. the mind > mental capacity > psychology > theory of psychoanalysis > libido > [noun] > person as object the mind > language > linguistics > study of grammar > syntax or word order > syntactic unit or constituent > [noun] > object > specific 1928 H. Poutsma (ed. 2) I. i. iii. 176 It will..often be useful to distinguish person-objects and thing-objects. 1949 M. Mead vii. 154 The distinction between mother's body and the own body..in person-object terms, is an important one. 1964 E. Becker in I. L. Horowitz 123 The schizophrenic is..someone who has been accustomed to relating to symbol-objects rather than to person-objects. 1980 D. L. Hamilton et al. in R. Hastie et al. iv. 147 It is certainly simpler to employ one cognitive structure with regard to all person-objects. the world > people > person > [adjective] > affecting 1950 13 123 Relations which are now obscured by the person-oriented bias of most sociological research. 1967 7 114 We must rapidly begin the shift from a ‘thing-oriented’ society to a ‘person-oriented’ society. 2001 45 661/1 Prosocial orientations are person-oriented and based on feelings of connectedness to others. the mind > mental capacity > psychology > psychology of perception > process of perception > [noun] > perception of others 1958 R. Tagiuri & L. Petrullo p. x We propose using the term person perception whenever the perceiver regards the object as having the potential of representation and intentionality. 1972 86 23 Accurate person perception is repeatedly identified as an essential component of effectiveness in the research literature concerned with interpersonal functioning. 2003 27 211 These results have major implications for the way rapport and person perception research is conducted. the world > matter > physics > energy or power of doing work > [noun] > capacity for exertion of mechanical force > man-power 1973 11 Nov. 20/4 If too many policepersons call in sick, they might be unable to catch their suspect because of a shortage of personpower. 2000 (Nexis) 1 June 46 Assimilating all this new technology, and implementing new application demand, requires not only pure personpower, but the right skillset as well. 1924 16 May 445/1 The experience includes over 150,000 person-years exposure to risk. 1970 Feb. 91 In that year people in California spent some 235 million person-days in specified outdoor recreational activities. 1987 P. Hardwick (BNC) 16 The supply of labour can be defined as the quantity of labour services (measured in person-hours) offered for hire by individuals over a given time period. 2003 (Nexis) 2 18 My current customer doesn't want to hear about the person months that will add to the schedule (read cost). This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2005; most recently modified version published online June 2022). personv. Inflections: Present participle personning, (chiefly U.S.) personing; past tense and past participle personned, (chiefly U.S.) personed; Origin: Formed within English, by conversion. Etymon: person n. Etymology: < person n. Compare post-classical Latin personare personate v. 1548 E. Gest sig. Ciiiv Soch a presence of Christes body in the bread, wherwyth they both shuld be unseverably personed and have al theyr condicions and properties common. society > communication > representation > [verb (transitive)] the mind > language > speech > narration > description or act of describing > describe [verb (transitive)] > describe the character of 1644 J. Milton (ed. 2) 59 Or let us person him like some wretched itinerary Judge. society > occupation and work > working > labour supply > [verb (transitive)] > fill a vacant position 1972 5 Aug. 6/3 Anne Wexler..talks about the child-care centers.., how they had been ‘manned on a full-time basis’. ‘You mean personned on a full-time basis,’ quips a male..reporter in a surprising burst of feminism. 1981 15 Feb. d14/2 ‘That was Ron,’ said Linda Willis, who was personing the phones at Cee-J's bait store. 1987 19 Oct. 18/6 Computers at the Stock Exchange might not all be working due to insufficient staff to ‘person’ them. This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2005; most recently modified version published online March 2022). <  n.?c1225 v.1548 |
