Character
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In general, a character is a distinctive significant mark or feature. The word originates from the Greek word Template:Polytonic via the Latin word character, an instrument for marking or graving. The word is used in several specific senses:
- Personal character:
- A person's moral predispositions or attitudes; see moral character, losers in literature.
- In psychiatry, a character structure is a constellation of enduring motivational and other traits that are manifested in the characteristic ways that an individual reacts to various challenges. See character structure.
- A fictional person from a book, play, or other fictional work; see fictional character.
- In roleplaying games, the role or persona assumed by the player within the fictional world of the game; also, the figurine or token that represents this character, used to map out movement relative to obstacles and other players' characters.
- A video game character can be either a player character or a non-player character (NPC)
- When someone takes on the role of a fictional character, or a role in a role-playing game, they are said to be in character; when they drop out of this role, they are said to break character
- Units of information:
- A grapheme such as a letter, Chinese ideogram, numeral; or punctuation mark. More generally, the components of an alphabet. See also typography.
- In computing, a unit of information in computer storage or communications; see character (computing).
- A movie released in 1997; see Character (1997 movie).
- An album released in 2005 by Dark Tranquillity; see Character (album).
- In Catholicism, a sacramental character is a supernatural mark made on a person's soul by some sacraments.
- In mathematics, there are several meanings of the word character, all related to the idea of homomorphisms into the complex numbers. See character (mathematics).