portrait

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See also: Portrait

English

The Mona Lisa, a portrait.
Portrait layout

Alternative forms

Etymology

From Middle French portraict, pourtraict, nominal use of the past participle of portraire (“portray”), from Latin prōtrahō.

Pronunciation

Noun

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portrait (countable and uncountable, plural portraits)

  1. (countable) A painting or other picture of a person, especially the head and shoulders.
    • a. 1792, Joshua Reynolds, Discourses on Painting and the Fine Arts:
      In portraits, the grace, and, we may add, the likeness, consists more in the general air than in the exact similitude of every feature.
  2. (countable, figuratively) An accurate depiction of a person, a mood, etc.
    The author painted a good portrait of urban life in New York in his latest book.
    • 1834, L[etitia] E[lizabeth] L[andon], Francesca Carrara. , volume I, London: Richard Bentley, , (successor to Henry Colburn), →OCLC, pages 232–233:
      She showed me her portrait, written by herself. I only remember what she states of her mouth, which, she says, was not only beautiful and red, but had a thousand little natural airs and graces not to be found in any other mouth. Oh, I must not forget her figure, which, she assured the reader, was the best-made and the finest that could be seen: nothing could be more regular, more graceful, or more easy.
  3. (computing, printing) A print orientation where the vertical sides are longer than the horizontal sides.

Antonyms

  • (antonym(s) of “print mode or selection”): landscape
  • (antonym(s) of “print mode or selection”): profile

Derived terms

Related terms

Translations

Verb

portrait (third-person singular simple present portraits, present participle portraiting, simple past and past participle portraited)

  1. (obsolete) To portray; to draw.
    • 1579, Immeritô [pseudonym; Edmund Spenser], The Shepheardes Calender: , London: Hugh Singleton, , →OCLC; reprinted as H Oskar Sommer, editor, The Shepheardes Calender , London: John C. Nimmo, , 1890, →OCLC:
      But all as in most exquisite pictures, they vse to blaze and portrait, not only the daintie lineaments or beautie, but also round about it to shadowe the rude thickets and craggy clifts
    • 1687, John Aubrey, Remaines of Gentilisme and Judaisme, page 69:
      Methinkes ye picture of St George fighting with ye Dragon hath some resemblance of St Michael fighting with the Devil, who is pourtrated like a Dragon.

Adjective

portrait (not comparable)

  1. Representing the actual features of an individual; not ideal.
    a portrait bust; a portrait statue

French

Pronunciation

Noun

portrait m (plural portraits)

  1. portrait
  2. (printing) portrait (format)
    Antonym: paysage
  3. description (of a person or things)

Derived terms

Descendants

Further reading

Norman

Noun

portrait m (plural portraits)

  1. (Jersey) portrait
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