-person

UK: /-ˌpɜː^rs^ən/

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

-person suffix:forming_nouns

1. sometimes used instead of -man and -woman or -lady: chairperson, salesperson

USAGE
-man

WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2026

per•son /ˈpɜrsən/   n. 

[countable]
1. a human being;
   a man, woman, or child:
   How many persons are there in the United States? Most persons have names; not all animals do. All persons must show proof of identity.
2. the actual self or individual personality of a human being:
   I want to get to know you as a person, not just as my boss.
3. the body of a living human being, sometimes including the clothes being worn:
   He had no money on his person.
4. Grammar a grammatical category for pronouns and verbs that distinguishes between the speaker of something said (the first person), the person spoken to (the second person), and other people or things spoken about (the third person).

Idioms

5. Idioms in person, directly and personally present (at a place), without a substitution:
   Applicants for this job must apply for it in person.

-person, suffix. 

1. Pronouns -person is used to replace some paired, sex-specific suffixes such as -man and -woman or -er¹ and -ess: salesman/saleswoman are replaced by sales + -person → salesperson;
   waiter/waitress are replaced by wait + -person → waitperson.

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026

per•son  (pûr′sən), n. 

1. a human being, whether man, woman, or child:
   The table seats four persons.
2. a human being as distinguished from an animal or a thing.
3. Sociology an individual human being, esp. with reference to his or her social relationships and behavioral patterns as conditioned by the culture.
4. Philosophy a self-conscious or rational being.
5. the actual self or individual personality of a human being:
   You ought not to generalize, but to consider the person you are dealing with.
6. the body of a living human being, sometimes including the clothes being worn:
   He had no money on his person.
7. the body in its external aspect:
   an attractive person to look at.
8. Literature a character, part, or role, as in a play or story.
9. an individual of distinction or importance.
10. a person not entitled to social recognition or respect.
11. Law a human being (natural person) or a group of human beings, a corporation, a partnership, an estate, or other legal entity (artificial person or juristic person) recognized by law as having rights and duties.
12. Grammar a category found in many languages that is used to distinguish between the speaker of an utterance and those to or about whom he or she is speaking. In English there are three persons in the pronouns, the first represented by I and we, the second by you, and the third by he, she, it, and they. Most verbs have distinct third person singular forms in the present tense, as writes;
    the verb be has, in addition, a first person singular form am.
13. Religion [Theol.] any of the three hypostases or modes of being in the Trinity, namely the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost.
14. Idioms be one's own person, to be free from restrictions, control, or dictatorial influence:
    Now that she's working, she feels that she's her own person.
15. Idioms in person, in one's own bodily presence;
    personally:
    Applicants are requested to apply in person.

• Greek prósōpa face, mask) + -na a suffix
• Etruscan phersu (
• Latin persōna role (in life, a play, or a tale) (Late Latin: member of the Trinity), origin, originally actor's mask
• Middle English persone 1175–1225

Synonyms

• 1. Person, individual, personage are terms applied to human beings.
  Person is the most general and common word:
  the average person.
  Individual views a person as standing alone or as a single member of a group:
  the characteristics of the individual;
  
  its implication is sometimes derogatory:
  a disagreeable individual.
  Personage is used (sometimes ironically) of an outstanding or illustrious person:
  We have a distinguished personage visiting us today.

Usage

See individual, party, people, they. 

-person, 

1. Pronouns a combining form of person, replacing in existing compound words such paired, sex-specific forms as -man and -woman or -er ¹ and -ess: chairperson;
   salesperson;
   waitperson.

Usage

The -person compounds are increasingly used, especially in the press, on radio and television, and in government and corporate communications, with the object of avoiding sex discrimination in language. Earlier practice was to use -man as the final element in such compounds regardless of the sex of the person referred to (anchorman; businessman) or to use -woman when referring to a woman (anchorwoman; businesswoman). Some object to these new -person compounds on the grounds that they are awkward or unnecessary, insisting that the equivalent and long-used compounds in -man are generic, not sex-marked. Others reject the -man compounds as discriminatory when applied to women or to persons whose sex is unknown or irrelevant. See also chairperson, -ess, lady, -man, -woman.