Green’s Dictionary of Slang

1. an eccentric or otherwise distinctive person [abbr. SE odd character].

1773		O. Goldsmith She Stoops to Conquer Act II: A very impudent fellow this! but he’s a character, and I’ll humour him.
1788		G.A. Stevens Adventures of a Speculist I 6: That man is a character.
1803		Thrale Thraliana ii 17 Sept. 1045: Mr Glasse is a Character—as the Phrase is—warm-headed & full of Talents [...] The Men consider him as a profound scholar, We Women find him a Highflying Wit;—& the Blaquieres know that he is bursting with Money—So God a Mercy Bess!
1821		D. Haggart Autobiog. 120: He was a real karacter.
1838		T. Haliburton Clockmaker II 5: He has some humour, much anecdote, and great originality; — he is, in short, quite a character.
1842		R.B. Hayes letter in Williams Diary and Letters (1922) I 98: He was a ‘character’.
1853		T. Haliburton Sam Slick’s Wise Saws II 280: I should like to draw him out now we are alone, for he is a character.
1860		‘George Eliot’ Mill on the Floss (1985) III 488: O I think he’s a perfect character!
1882		W.A. Baillie-Grohman Camps in the Rockies 384: There were several characters present.
1894		H. Lawson ‘The Lost Souls’ Hotel’ in Roderick (1972) 155: I’d have to have a ‘character’ about the place — a sort of identity and joker to brighten up things.
1906		C. M’Govern Sarjint Larry an’ Frinds 92: In some respects he was a character; in others a type.
1926		Wood & Goddard Dict. Amer. Sl.
1938		C. Beaton Cecil Beaton’s N.Y. 153: A few ‘characters’ remain. One of them is Joe Gould, about the loss of whose teeth Cummings was inspired to write a poem.
1947		I. Shulman Amboy Dukes 85: Isn’t she a character?
1954		R. Service ‘A Character’ in Carols of an Old Codger 29: How often do I wish I were / What people call a character; / A ripe and cherubic old chappie.
1969		‘Iceberg Slim’ Mama Black Widow 74: He was a ‘character’ to them.
1979		H. Leonard A Life (1981) Act II: A character, yes. It’s a word used to describe any ignoramus or bigot over sixty.
1981		A. Payne ‘You Need Hands’ Minder [TV script] 6: Bit of a character.
1991		M.B. ‘Chopper’ Read Chopper From The Inside ix: [Intro] Read is a ‘character’: street smart, witty and good company.
2000		F. Mac Anna Cartoon City 273: The woman giggled. ‘Oh, you’re a character. I was warned about you, so I was.’.

2. (orig. US) a person.

1901		C.R. Wooldridge Hands Up! 71: There were at least one hundred and fifty of the toughest characters on the levee in the saloon.
1926		J. Black You Can’t Win (2000) 69: Near the depot I met a character who looked like a bum.
1938		D. Runyon ‘The Big Umbrella’ in Runyon on Broadway (1954) 560: There must be thirty characters of one kind and another sitting around a big table.
1947		B. Schulberg Harder They Fall (1971) 21: I wasted too much time shooting the breeze with Charles [...] and the other characters.
1957		Kerouac On The Road (1972) 145: Louisiana characters lounged around with Racing Forms.
1960		C. Cooper Jr Scene (1996) 143: They chose hotel characters at random, questioning them, examining their arms.
1970		E. Tidyman Shaft 62: He wondered if this character would hold him up down there.
1986		B. Geldof Is That It? 110: He was a frail-looking character, thin and gaunt.
1990		S. Morgan Homeboy 99: I want every character of flipside Frisco searching for the Blue Jager Moon.

3. (US Und.) a professional criminal; also attrib.

1926		Missouri Assoc. for Criminal Justice Missouri Crime Survey 50: ‘The ‘shadow-box’ or ‘show-up’ room, for the exhibition of police characters, which has been established in the St. Louis headquarters building.
1969		B. Jackson Thief’s Primer 127: So that night I’m in a character joint, kind of a hip place. [Ibid.] 144: A character is a person who makes his money outside the law. It doesn’t matter how.
1971–2		C. Shafer ‘Catheads [...] and Cho-Cho Sticks’ in Abernethy Bounty of Texas (1990) 200: character, n. – someone who makes his living dishonestly; hijacker, thief, hot-check writer; also can refer to a criminal in a complimentary manner, depending on the context.
1972		E. Shrake Strange Peaches 167: The cops used to pick up known characters on sight, stick them in jail on suspicion of whatever burglaries, thefts or armed robberies were current, kick them around a bit and parade them at line-ups.