personating

Verb (1)

personate (third-person singular simple present personates, present participle personating, simple past and past participle personated)

1. (transitive) To fraudulently portray another person; to impersonate.
   • But this latter has, at the suggestion of Tyndarus, exchanged clothes with him, and the slave[…] personates the master.1873, William Lucas Collins, chapter IV, in Plautus and Terence, page 67
2. (transitive) To portray a character (as in a play); to act.
   • The antients would certainly have invoked the goddess Flora for this purpose, and it would have been no difficulty for their priests, or politicians to have persuaded the people of the real presence of the deity, though a plain mortal had personated her and performed her office.1749, Henry Fielding, chapter I, in The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling, volume (please specify |volume=I to VI), London: A[ndrew] Millar, […], →OCLC, book IV
3. (transitive) To attribute personal characteristics to something; to personify.
   • One do I personate of Timon's frame , Whom Fortune with her iv'ry hand wafts to herc. 1605–1608 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Life of Tymon of Athens”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and...
4. (transitive) To set forth in an unreal character; to disguise; to mask.
   • a personated mate1643, J[ohn] M[ilton], The Doctrine and Discipline of Divorce: […], London: […] T[homas] P[aine] and M[atthew] S[immons] […], →OCLC

Verb (2)

personate (third-person singular simple present personates, present participle personating, simple past and past participle personated)

1. (obsolete, transitive) To celebrate loudly; to extol, to praise.
   • I vvill drop in his vvay ſome obſcure Epiſtles of loue, vvherein by the colour of his beard, the ſhape of his legge, the manner of his gate, the expreſſure of his eye, forehead, and complection, he ſhall finde himſelfe moſt feelingly perſonated.c. 1601–1602 (date written), William Shakespeare, “Twelfe Night, or What You Will”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and...

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