PERMANENT SOURCE RECORD
ALL SOURCES ↗BIBLIOGRAPHIC IDENTITYmw-person
SOURCE
RECORD.
One work. Every claim that depends on it. No citation without a consequence you can inspect.
9 PUBLIC LINKS INTO THE GRAPH.
This count excludes duplicate dossier-path citations. Open the claims below to see exactly how the source is used.
historical dictionarymw-person
Person — Definition, Word History, and First Known Use
- AUTHOR / EDITOR
- Merriam-Webster Editors
- YEAR
- 2026
- PUBLISHER
- Merriam-Webster
- DOI
- Not recorded
- SOURCE TYPE
- historical dictionary
- EXTERNAL RECORD
- OPEN ORIGINAL ↗
010
CONTRARIAN TRUTH CLAIMS
RANKED REVEALS THAT CITE THIS SOURCE
No ranked contrarian reveal currently cites this source.
021
SCHOLARLY DISAGREEMENT
DISPUTE POSITIONS THAT CITE THIS SOURCE
opensupportsproposed
Is persona to phersu to prosōpon one certain chain?
No. Latin persōna to Etruscan phersu is probable in major references, while the deeper Greek comparison is proposed and contested.
Etymology: probably Etruscan phersu from Greek prosōpaPublishes the fuller proposed chain.
034
CANONICAL RELATIONSHIP CLAIMS
EDGES THAT CITE THIS SOURCE
EDGE 833supportsestablished
person → persone
Present-Day English → Middle English · continuation
- SOUND
- Modern person continues Middle English persone with loss of final unstressed e and stabilized spelling.
- MEANING
- Role and individual reference develop into the modern person noun.
- SCHOLAR / EDITOR
- Merriam-Webster Editors · American Heritage Dictionary Editors
Etymology and First Known UsePublishes Middle English persone and the thirteenth-century horizon.
EDGE 834supportsestablished
persone → persone
Middle English → Anglo-French · borrowing
- SOUND
- Middle English persone was borrowed through Anglo-French persone.
- MEANING
- The person and character noun crosses through French into English.
- SCHOLAR / EDITOR
- Merriam-Webster Editors
Etymology: Middle English from Anglo-French personePublishes the immediate borrowing channel.
EDGE 835supportsestablished
persone → persōna
Anglo-French → Latin · inheritance
- SOUND
- Anglo-French persone continues Latin persōna.
- MEANING
- Mask, role, character, and person senses travel through Romance.
- SCHOLAR / EDITOR
- Merriam-Webster Editors · American Heritage Dictionary Editors
Etymology: Anglo-French from Latin personaPublishes the Latin source.
EDGE 837supportsproposed
phersu → πρόσωπον
Etruscan → Ancient Greek · proposed comparison
- SOUND
- Etruscan phersu has been compared with Greek πρόσωπον, but the exact historical direction and mediation are uncertain.
- MEANING
- Masked figure, face, mask, and character provide a semantic comparison.
- SCHOLAR / EDITOR
- Merriam-Webster Editors · Marta Di Napoli
Etymology: probably Etruscan phersu, from Greek prosōpaPublishes the proposed deeper comparison.
041
LEXICAL ATTESTATIONS
WITNESSES REPORTED BY THIS SOURCE
personSOURCE-REPORTED
person
Merriam-Webster first-known-use report for person
OPEN WITNESS 180 ↗050
COMPARATIVE EVIDENCE
COGNATES, DESCENDANTS, AND RELATIVES
No comparative-relative record currently cites this source.
062
GEOGRAPHIC AND TEMPORAL CLAIMS
JOURNEY STAGES THAT CITE THIS SOURCE
stage 3supports
France and England
Publishes the medieval borrowing channel.
Etymology: Anglo-French persone · broadstage 4supports
English-speaking world
Supplies the century interval.
First Known Use: 13th century · global071
NON-GENEALOGICAL CONNECTIONS
HISTORICAL CONTEXT, KEPT SEPARATE
semantic overlap distinct ancestrysupports
TWO WORDS FOR US, TWO DIFFERENT ARCHAEOLOGIES
Human and person can identify the same individual today, but their reviewed ancestries do not merge: human travels through Latin hūmānus and homō toward an earth root, while person travels through Latin persōna toward a disputed mask and role history.
Merriam-Webster Editors · American Heritage Dictionary Editors · established082
WORD-FAMILY REUSE
DOSSIERS THAT DEPEND ON THIS SOURCE
4 entry-scoped citations map reviewed dossier paths onto the canonical claims above.