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persona

the aspect of personality shown to others

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Where does the word "persona" come from? It comes from Latin persona, and was adopted directly into English (1910s).

Read the full story

Where does the word "persona" come from? It comes from Latin persona, and was adopted directly into English (1910s).

Persona’s story begins in Latin: persona meant “actor's mask.” Possibly from Etruscan 'phersu'. It reached English by 1910s as persona. Jung used it for the face one shows to the world. Today, persona means the aspect of personality shown to others.

  1. Stage 1 · Latin · ancient persona "actor's mask", possibly from Etruscan 'phersu'.
  2. Stage 2 · English · 1910s persona "character", Jung used it for the face one shows to the world.

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