A shorthand or Latin term referring to the dramatis personae, the list of characters in a play.
From Latin dramatis, the genitive form of drama. This is often seen in the phrase 'dramatis personae' (the characters/persons of the drama).
The phrase 'dramatis personae' appears in almost every printed play ever made, yet most readers never learn that 'dramatis' is Latin for 'of the drama'—it's a piece of ancient Rome hiding in every theater!
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