Characinidae 
Characinidae (kar-a-mn'i-de), >i. pi. [NL., < 
CharariMiix + -((/.! A family of plectospcm- 
dylous fishes, typified by the genus CharaeflMU. 
The liocly is scaly, the head is naked ; tin- upper jaw is 
forillfll by the InternUUdUviei in tin- middle and tin- 
maxiUarle* latently; the pylori.' ippendigM are more at 
ics.s miim-rous; the Ir-blmdder U divided IJUIIM-. i- h 
into two portions. AM adipose tin is generally developed, 
and there arc no psrmlitlii am M:r. tin- siMvirs are inhab- 
itants of the fre-,h waters { Afriea an. I tropical Alnerii-a, 
anil are very numerous. 
Characininae (kar'a-Bi-nl'nfi), . )>l. [NL., < 
Charariiiim + -iinr.] A subfamily of charuci- 
noid lislics to which different limits have been 
assigned. Also ('liiirtn-iiitr. 
characinoid ( kar'a-si-noid), (i. and n. [< Clutru- 
rinHx + -old.] I. 'it. Pertaining to or having the 
characters of the Clitirai-iiii.'-r. 
II. //. A fish of the family Characini/ln. 
Characinus (kar-a-si'nus), it. [NL. (Lacpede, 
1803), < Gr. x"l m $ (x a ( MK ~)i a sea-fish, perhaps 
the rud; a particular use of x''l" l $\ a pointed 
stake, < x a l'" nnl "'> make sharp or pointed. See 
character.'] A genus of fishes, typical of the 
family ('litirm-iiiitlii: 
charactt (kar'akt), M. [A restored spelling of 
ME. fiinii-t. fiirin-lt: cin-irt, a mark, < OP. ca- 
rai'tf. carntr = 1'r. rfimcta, shortened from L. 
chiii-ii<-ti-r : see character.] A character; a dis- 
tinctive mark. 
Even so may Angelo, 
In all his dressings, characts, titles, forms, 
!',. an arch-villain. sh,ik., M. for M., v. 1. 
character (kar'ak-ter), . [< ME. caractcr (usu- 
ally sliortened earact, a mark : see charact) = Y. 
earactere = Sp. eardcter = Pg. caracter, charac- 
ter = It. carattere = D. Gr. Dan. Sw. karakter, 
< L. character, < Gr. x a t mKT >IP, prop, an instru- 
ment for marking or graving, commonly a mark 
engraved or impressed, a figure, any distinctive 
mark, a personal feature, peculiar nature or 
character, < yapnaaav, furrow, scratch, en- 
grave .] 1 . A mark made by cutting, stamping, 
or engraving, as on stone, metal, or other hard 
material ; hence, a mark or figure, written or 
printed, and used to communicate thought, as 
in the formation of words; a letter, figure, or 
sign. 
He[DanteIisthe very man . . . who has read the dusky 
characters on the portal within which there is no hope. 
Macaulay, Milton. 
She looked into an illuminated countenance, whose 
characters were all beaming, though the page itself was 
dusk. Charlotte Bronte, Shirley, xxxvii. 
Hence 2. The peculiar form or style of letters 
used by a particular person ; handwriting ; any 
system of written, engraved, or printed sym- 
bols employed by a particular race or nation 
of people to record or communicate thought : 
as, the Greek character; the Runic character ; 
the Hebrew character. 
Alas, Malvolio, this is not my writing, 
Though, I confess, much like the character. 
Shale., T. N., v. 1. 
Another letter you must frame for me 
Instantly, in your lady's character, 
To such a purpose as I'll tell thee straight. 
Beau, and Ft., Knight of Malta, i. 3. 
I will have his name 
Formed in some mystic character. 
B. Joiuun, Alchemist, ii. 1. 
He ... made notes of all that I told him, in the quaint 
character used by the Mughrebbius, or Arabs of the West, 
which has considerable resemblance to the ancient C'ufle. 
B. Taylor, Lands of the Saracen, p. 23. 
3f. A cipher. 
For Sir H. Rennet's love is come to the height, and his 
confidence, that he hath given my Lord a character, and 
will oblige my Lord to correspond with him. 
Pepys, Diary, II. 148. 
4. A distinguishing mark or characteristic ; 
any one of the properties or qualities which 
serve to distinguish one person or thing from 
others ; a peculiarity by which a thing may be 
recognized, described, and classified, in modern 
English character is the most general designation for that 
which an abstract noun denotes. 
I will not name him, 
Nor give you any character to know him. 
Beau, and Ft., Little French Lawyer, i. S. 
Fear and sorrow are the true characters and inseparable 
companions of most melancholy. 
Burton, Anat. of Mel., p. 109. 
The bandages and draperies of the grave still imparted 
their charnel character to the figure. Poe, Tales, I. 487. 
The importance, for classification, of trifling charaetfn, 
mainly depends on their being correlated with several 
other characters of more or less importance. 
Darwin, Origin of Species, p. 367. 
5. The combination of properties, qualities, or 
peculiarities which distinguishes one person or 
thing, or one group of persons or things, from 
others; specifically, the sum of the inherited 
027 
and acquired ethical traits which give to a per- 
son his moral individuality. 
A character, or that which distinguishes one man from 
all others, cannot In- suppo-i-d to consist ..! one particular 
virtue, or vice, or passion only ; but it is a composition of 
qualiti'.- which are not contrary to one ioothn in the 
same person. Itryden, Criticism in Tragedy. 
A character Is only formed through a man's conscious 
presentation to himself of objects a- bis nood, ax that in 
which his self-satisfaction is to be found. 
T. II. 9mm, l'rolei;omena to F.thics, | 108. 
6. The moral qualities assigned to a person 
by repute ; the estimate attached to an individ- 
ual by the community in which he lives ; good 
or bad reputation ; standing : as, a character 
for veracity or mendacity. 
The people of Alexandria have a very bad chu, 
especially the military men, and ainonu them particularly 
the janizaries. I'ocockr, Description of the Eat, I. Hi. 
( '/in i -nfifr is the slow-spreading Influence of opinion arls 
ing from the deportment of a man in society. Erikii . 
Specifically 7. Good qualities, or the reputa- 
tion of possessing them; good reputation: as, 
a man of worth and character. 
They are tenacious of reputation with a vengeance; 
for they don't choose any body should have a character 
but themselves ! Sheridan, School for Scandal, II. 1. 
There was a certain shyness about his greeting, quite 
different from his usual frank volubility, that did not, 
however, impress us as any accession of character. 
Bret Harte, Argonauts, p. lt. 
8. The qualities, course of action, or r61e ap- 
propriate to a given person, station in life, 
profession, etc. 
The missionaries came here at first under the character 
of physicians. Pococke, Description of the East, I. 77. 
'Twould not be out of character. If you went in your own 
carriage. Sheridan, School for Scandal, III. 1. 
9. Strongly marked distinctive qualities of 
any kind : as, a man with a great deal of char- 
acter. 
To put it iu a single word, I think that his (Dryden'sl 
qualities and faculties were in that rare combination 
which makes character. Tills gave tlavor to whatever he 
wrote a very rare quality. 
Lowell, Among my Books, 1st ser., p. 78. 
10. An account or statement of the qualities or 
peculiarities of a person or thing ; specifically, 
an oral or a written statement with regard to 
the standing or qualifications of any one, as a 
servant or an employee. 
It was your character that first commended 
Him to my thoughts. Shirley, Hyde Park, ii. 3. 
Mr. Selden was a Person whom no Character can flatter, 
or transmit in any Expressions equal to his Merit and Vir- 
tue. Clarendon, Autobiog. (ed. 1759), p. 1. 
1 1. A person ; a personage : as, the noble char- 
acters of ancient history; a disreputable char- 
acter; specifically, one of the persons repre- 
sented in a drama, or in fiction. 
In a tragedy, or epick poem, the hero . . . must out- 
shine the rest of all the characters. 
Dryden, Parallel of Poetry and Painting. 
The friendship of distinguished characters. Roscoe. 
I went down to the Turkish houses, to cultivate the ac- 
quaintance of a singular character I met on board the 
steamer. B. Taylor, Lands of the Saracen, p. 22. 
12. A person of marked peculiarities ; an odd 
person : used absolutely : as, he was a charac- 
ter. 13t. A stamp or representation; type. 
[Bare.] 
And tliou. In thy black shape and blacker actions, 
Being hell's perfect character, art delighted 
To do what I, though infinitely wicked, 
Tremble to hear. Beau, and Fl., Knight of Malta, iv. 1. 
Arabic characters, arrow-headed r cuneiform 
characters, baptismal character, epistolographlc 
characters-etc. See the adjectives. Character-actor. 
See actor. Character of scales and, keys, in music, the 
peculiar quality or individuality that is thought to inhere 
in certain scales and keys. Thus, keys having sharps in the 
signature are thought to be brighter and stronger than 
those having fiats ; and certain moods are said to be more 
appropriately expressed by certain keys than by others. 
The existence of such differences, except so far as they re- 
sult from the inequality of the voice or an accidental or 
traditional irregularity of tuning, is denied by many mu- 
sicians. Derivative Character, a character that is de- 
ducihle from another. Generic character, a mark dis- 
tinguishing genera. Musical Characters, the conven- 
tional forms or marks used for signs of clefs, notes, rests, 
etc. Real Character, a graphical sign which signifies 
something directly and ideographically, and not phoneti- 
cally or by representing a spoken word or speech ; also, 
a complete system of such signs serving as a written 
language. Specific Character, a specific difference ; a 
mark distinguishing species. =8yn. 4. Characteristic, At- 
tribute, etc. See quality. 5. Disposition, turn, bent, con- 
stitution. 
character (kar'ak-ter. formerly ka-rak'ter), 
v.t. [< character, M.] 1. To engrave; inscribe; 
write. 
Show me one scar character'd on thy skin. 
Shak., 2 Hen. VI., ill. 1. 
The laws of marriage character'd in gold 
Upon the blanched tablets of her heart. 
Tennyson, Isabel. 
characteristic 
2t. To ascribe a certain character to ; charac- 
terize; describe. 
She's far from tint 1 cluinirti-r'il. 
Miili/l.tiin inn! lidirlrii. Spanish I'M'.sy, V. 1. 
Thuanus . . . thus charactereili the I'on-U'al.l. -n.si -s. 
r, Holy War, p. 14.',. 
3. To give expression to, as mental qualities 
to the countenance. [Kare.] 
Such mingled passions character d his face 
Of fierce and terrible henry. .Inn < 
That I did tremble as I looked on him. 
charactered (kar'ak-terd), . [< character + 
-ii/-, \ Jlaving ii character. TI-IIHI/.--IIII. 
characterially(kar-k-te'ri-al-i ),ailr. Charac- 
teristically. uatttoett-PltUlippt. 
characterisation, characterise. See charac- 
ti i't.:(iti(ni, clifi>'(tct''ri-t r . 
characterism (kar'ak-ter-izm), n. [= P. ca- 
i-nc/t'i-iniHi; < L. i-hr<tct< ritiiini.i, < Gr. x a l lk ~'i- 
piau6f, a characterizing, < x a l> a * T '/P't fn ' l char- 
acterize : see characterize.] 1. A distinctive 
character; a characteristic. 
The characterise of an honest man : He looks not to 
what lie might do, but what he should. 
///.. Hall, Characters. 
Simplicity In discourse, and Ingenuity in all pretences 
and transactions, became the characterisms of Christian 
men. Jcr. Taylor, Works (ed. 1835), I., Pret 
St. A description of the character or pecu- 
liarities of a person or thing; a characteriza- 
tion. 
Some short Characterism of the chief Actors. 
B. Jonson, The New Inn, Dramatis Persona*. 
characteristic (kar'ak-te-ris'tik), a. and n. 
[= F. caractcristique = Sp. caracterigtico = Pg. 
caracteristico = It. earatteristico = D. karaktc- 
ristiek = Sw. karakteristik (cf. G. karaktcristixch 
= Dan. karakteristinlc), < Gr. x a P aKTT !P" jrtK ^- 
< x a P aKrr iP'& tv L designate, characterize: see 
characterize.'} t. a. 1. Pertaining to, constitut- 
ing, or indicating the character; exhibiting the 
peculiar qualities of a person or thing ; pecu- 
liar; distinctive: as, a characteristic distinc- 
tion ; with characteristic generosity, he emptied 
his purse. 
I saw the mouldering ruin of an abbey overrun with ivy, 
and the taper spire of a village church rising from the 
brow of a neighboring hill all were characteristic of Eng- 
land. Irving, Sketch-Book, p. 23. 
2. Relative to a characteristic or character- 
istics in sense II., 2 (6) or (c) Characteristic 
angle Of a curve, in yearn., a rectilinear right-angled 
triangle, whose hypothenuse makes a part of the curve, 
not sensibly different from a right line. Characteristic 
formula, in Jitath., a formula expressing how many of an 
i-way spread of figures satisfy any f-fold condition, the 
formula being of the form shown under II., 2(6). Char- 
acteristic function of a moving system. See /nr- 
tum. Characteristic letter, characteristic sound, 
in gram., the last letter or sound of the stem, to which the 
termination must lie accommodated, thus determining or 
characterizing the inflection of the word. Also called the 
characteristic, character, or stein-character. Character- 
istic number, the number of characteristics of a given 
spread of figures, for a con dition of a given dimensionality. 
Characteristic piece, inmusic, a composition intend- 
ed to depict or suggest a definite scene, event, object, or 
quality, as Beethoven's "Pastoral" Symphony. Charac- 
teristic problem, the problem of determining the char- 
acteristic numbers of a given spread of figures. Char- 
acteristic tone, in mniic: (a) The seventh tone of the 
scale: so called necause it specially emphasizes the su- 
premacy of the tonic or key-note ; the leading-tone. (6) 
In any key, that tone by which it is distinguished from 
the most nearly related keys, as the Fg that distinguishes 
the key of G from that of C. 
II. n. 1. That which serves to characterize, 
or which constitutes or indicates the charac- 
ter; anything that distinguishes one person or 
thing or place from another; a distinctive fea- 
ture. 
This vast invention exerts itself in Homer in a manner 
superior to that of any poet ; it is the great and peculiar 
characteristick which distinguishes him from all others. 
Pope. 
It is a characteristic of wisdom not to do desperate 
things. Thoreau, Walden, p. 11. 
To become crystallized, fixed in opinion and mode of 
thought, Is to lose the great characteristic of life, by which 
it is distinguished from inanimate nature : the power of 
adapting itself to circumstances. 
W. K. Cliford, Lectures, I. 105. 
2. In math.: (a) [NL. characteristica, used in 
this sense by Henry Brigges in 1628.] The in- 
dex or integer part of an artificial or Briggsian 
logarithm. See logarithm. (6) A number, one 
of a set of numbers, //, v, etc., referring to an 
i-way spread of figures of a given kind, and 
such that the number of these figures which 
satisfy any i-fold condition is equal to a/i + 
bv +, etc., where a, l>, etc., are whole numbers 
depending upon the nature of this condition. 
This definition, given by Schubert in 1879, is a 
