Impersonal
/ɪmˈpɜːrsənəl/noun
Not personal; lacking individual personality, emotion, or reference to a specific person.
Did you know?Its Latin ancestry is built from the same *persona* that originally meant a theatrical mask, so the word’s history already contains the eerie idea of a face being removed.
Etymological Timeline
Latin
Latin
impersonālis
“not pertaining to a person; without personal character”
Late Latin
Latin
impersonālis
“impersonal, especially in grammar”
14th Century
English
impersonall
“not personal; not proper to a person”
16th–17th Century
English
impersonal
“not having the qualities of a person; in grammar, lacking a specific subject”
Modern English
English
impersonal
“lacking personal warmth, individuality, or a specific human subject”