# portrait

Pronunciation: US say "PORT-ruht" /ˈpɔɹtɹət/; UK say "PORT-rayt" /ˈpɔːtɹeɪt/

## Noun

1. A person's likeness in a painting or another kind of picture, typically showing the head and shoulders.
   - Simple: A picture of a person, usually showing the face and shoulders.
   - _The museum's new exhibit features portraits by Dutch masters._
   - _He commissioned a portrait to mark his fiftieth birthday._
2. A page or screen orientation in which the vertical sides are longer than the horizontal sides.
   - Simple: A way of placing a page or screen so it is taller than it is wide.
   - _The report reads better in portrait, with its long edge running vertically._
   - _Most word processors open new documents in portrait rather than landscape._
3. An accurate depiction of a person, a mood, or a similar subject.
   - Simple: A true and clear picture of a person or feeling, given in words or art.
   - _The biography offers an unflinching portrait of the artist's troubled later years._
   - _His essay paints a portrait of a community on the edge of change._

## Adjective

4. Depicting the actual features of an individual rather than an idealized version.
   - Simple: Showing a person's real looks, not a perfect or made-up version.
   - _The gallery specializes in portrait busts that record each sitter's true likeness._
   - _Roman portrait sculpture often depicted aging faces with unflinching realism._

## Verb

5. To portray someone or something; to draw or depict. *(obsolete)*
   - Simple: To make a picture of someone or something, or to draw them.
   - _The master agreed to portrait the duke in full armor._
   - _Travelers paid local artists to portrait them beside the ruins._

## Origin

From Middle French portraict (also pourtraict), a noun use of the past participle of portraire ("to portray"), which came from Latin prōtrahō (from prō- plus trahō).

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/portrait (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).