pairson

Noun

person (plural people or persons)

1. An individual who has been granted personhood; usually a human being.
   • THE favourable reception the Orrery has met with from Perſons of the firſt diſtinction, and from Gentlemen and Ladies in general, has induced me to add to it ſeveral new improvements in order to give it a degree of Perfection; and diſtinguiſh it from others; which by Piracy, or Imitation, may be...1784, William Jones, The Description and Use of a New Portable Orrery, &c., PREFACE
   1. A character or part, as in a play; a specific kind or manifestation of individual character, whether in real life, or in literary or dramatic representation; an assumed character.
      • […]his firſt appearance vpon the Stage, in his new perſon of a Sycophant or Iugler[…]1622, Francis, Lord Verulam, Viscount St. Alban [i.e. Francis Bacon], The Historie of the Raigne of King Henry the Seventh, […], London: […] W[illiam] Stansby for Matthew Lownes, and William Barret...
   2. Any one of the three hypostases of the Holy Trinity: the Father, Son, or Holy Spirit.
      • three persons and one God1892, Book of Common Prayer, The Litanie
   3. Any sapient or socially intelligent being.
   4. Someone who likes or has an affinity for (a specified thing).
      • Jack's always been a dog person, but I prefer cats.
   5. A human of unspecified gender (in terms usually constructed with man or woman).

See all 16 meanings of person