persona · "the painted mask worn by actors"
I'm sometimes asked what the difference is between "personality" and "character". In ordinary speech the words are often used interchangeably, but a look at their origins helps us appreciate the difference.
The Latin origin of "personality" is the "persona", from an earlier Greek word meaning "face", the painted mask worn by actors in Greek and Roman tragedy and comedy. Like the masks still worn in some Asian theatre, it vividly defined the part the actor was playing. The wooden masks even acted as sound-boxes, magnifying the actors' voices; there is a link here to "resonance".
So personality is outward-looking: the set of attitudes and behaviours that define how we appear to other people. Like the actor's mask, personality can change.
"Character", by contrast, derives from a classical Greek word meaning "to cut deeply, or to engrave", "a mark, an engraving or a distinctive quality". So character describes our inwardly-held moral values and beliefs: distinguishing marks deeply engraved in our identity, which stand behind, but are sometimes in conflict with, our personality.
Understanding the masks we wear, and the character beneath them, is central to my self-awareness coaching. If you would like to look more closely at your own, do get in touch, at richard@hilliardcoaching.com.