Portrait
/ˈpɔːr.trɪt/noun
A painted, drawn, photographed, or sculpted representation of a person, especially of the face and shoulders.
Did you know?Portrait comes from Latin *protrahere* via Old French *portraire*, originally meaning to draw or drag something forth—language that feels almost ritualistic in how it “summons” a face into view.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*tragh-
“to draw, pull, drag”
Latin
Latin
protrahere
“to draw forth, pull out, prolong”
Late Latin
Latin
portrahere
“to draw forth, depict”
Old French
Old French
portraire
“to depict, represent in drawing or writing”
Middle English
English
portrait
“a drawn or painted representation of a person”
Modern English
English
portrait
“a representation of a person, especially the face”