English
characterwise
Characterwise comes from Old French caractere ‘mark’, from Ancient Greek χαρακτήρ ‘instrument used for engraving’, and ultimately from χαράσσω.
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEχαράσσω1kharássō‘to engrave, carve, write, draw, stamp’
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEχαρακτήρ1kharaktḗr‘instrument used for engraving’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcharactēr1‘characteristic, mark, character, style’
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400caractere1‘mark’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500caracter1
- English1500–presentcharacter1
- Englishearliest quotation 1977characterwise1
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
- 1 Wiktionary, English characterwise
- Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1977, E. Edelhoff, Klaus-Dieter Lehmann: “Subfields necessitate characterwise processing, because only that field is…”.
Earlier history uncertain. See Wiktionary.
Lineage
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEχαράσσωWiktionary, English characterwisekharássō‘to engrave, carve, write, draw, stamp’
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEχαρακτήρWiktionary, English characterwisekharaktḗr‘instrument used for engraving’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcharactērWiktionary, English characterwise‘characteristic, mark, character, style’
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400caractereWiktionary, English characterwise‘mark’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500caracterWiktionary, English characterwise
- English1500–presentcharacterWiktionary, English characterwise
- Englishearliest quotation 1977characterwiseWiktionary, English characterwise. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1977, E. Edelhoff, Klaus-Dieter Lehmann: “Subfields necessitate characterwise processing, because only that field is…”
A compound of character + -wise
Ancient Greek χαράσσω ‘to engrave’
Ancient Greek χαρακτήρ ‘type’
Latin charactēr ‘branding iron’
Old French caractere ‘mark’
Middle English caracter
English character
Linked words
through Ancient Greek χαρακτήρ ‘instrument used for engraving’
Today it means
adv In terms of character.
Sources
Sources: Wiktionary, “characterwise”. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.
Etymograph / Ancient Greek χαράσσω / characterwise