Skip to the word

Added 29 September 2026

portrait

/ˈpɔːtɹeɪt/ noun

Latin root: prōtrahō Wiktionary

noun Definition from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). Pronunciation from Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org. More about portrait at Wordnik → Where our words come from →

A painting or other picture of a person, especially the head and shoulders.
An accurate depiction of a person, a mood, etc.
The author painted a good portrait of urban life in New York in his latest book.
A print orientation where the vertical sides are longer than the horizontal sides.

verb

To portray; to draw.

adjective

Representing the actual features of an individual; not ideal.
a portrait bust; a portrait statue

Origin

From Middle French portraict, pourtraict, nominal use of the past participle of portraire (“portray”), from Latin prōtrahō (< prō- + trahō). Compare typologically English drawing.

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

Back to today's word