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Added 8 October 2026

persona

/pɝˈsoʊnə/ noun

Latin root: persōna Wiktionary

noun Definition from WordNet 3.1, Princeton University. Pronunciation from Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org. More about persona at Wordnik → Where our words come from →

An actor's portrayal of someone in a play.
she played the part of Desdemona
(Jungian psychology) a personal facade that one presents to the world.
a public image is as fragile as Humpty Dumpty

Origin

Borrowed from Latin persōna (“mask; character”), of uncertain origin. Suggested to be from Etruscan 𐌘𐌄𐌓𐌔𐌖 (φersu, “mask; masked individual; actor”), which could be a loan from Ancient Greek πρόσωπον (prósōpon, “face; appearance; mask used in ancient theatre to denote a character or, more generally, a social role”). Doublet of person and parson.

From Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org (CC BY-SA)

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