Definition of "person" in English

noun

1. An individual who has been granted personhood; usually a human being.

   • 1784, William Jones, The Description and Use of a New Portable Orrery, &c., PREFACE THE favourable reception the Orrery has met with from Perſons of the firſt diſtinction, and from Gentlemen and Ladies in general, has induced me to add to it ſeveral new improvements in order to give it a degree of Perfection; and diſtinguiſh it from others; which by Piracy, or Imitation, may be introduced to the Public.
   • Each person is unique, both mentally and physically.

2. The physical body of a being seen as distinct from the mind, character, etc.

   • At first blush it seemed that what was striking about him rested on the fact that his dress was exotic, his person foreign.

3. (law) Any individual or formal organization with standing before the courts.

   • At common law a corporation or a trust is legally a person.

4. (law, euphemistic) The human genitalia; specifically, the penis.

   • [E]very Person wilfully, openly, lewdly, and obscenely exposing his Person in any Street, Road, or public Highway, or in the View thereof, or in any Place of public Resort, with Intent to insult any Female ... and being subsequently convicted of the Offence for which he or she shall have been so apprehended, shall be deemed a Rogue and Vagabond, within the true Intent and Meaning of this Act ...

5. (grammar) A linguistic category used to distinguish between the speaker of an utterance and those to whom or about whom they are speaking. See grammatical person.

6. (biology) A shoot or bud of a plant; a polyp or zooid of the compound Hydrozoa, Anthozoa, etc.; also, an individual, in the narrowest sense, among the higher animals.

7. A soulmate; someone, especially a romantic partner, with whom one is exceptionally compatible and connected.

verb

1. (obsolete, transitive) To represent as a person; to personify; to impersonate.

2. (transitive, gender-neutral) To man, to supply with staff or crew.