A face shown to others, which may or may not be the whole self. Originally the mask through which an actor's voice came.
Latin persona — first the mask worn by an actor, then the character it gave voice to — possibly from Etruscan phersu (mask) rather than the folk etymology per-sonare (to sound through); a face shown, which may or may not be the whole self behind it.
A face shown to others, which may or may not be the whole self behind it — the mask an actor's voice once came through, still doing the same work.