character reference
4
3.8
- noun
- /ˈkærɪktər ˈrɛfərəns/
:
referencia de carácter
- At some point in one's life, he or she is bound to be requested by a friend, relative, coworker, or acquaintance to write down a character reference.
- need a character reference
- give a character reference
Examples
-
Travis brought with him a good character reference from his last employer.
-
He'd written one of the character references I'd needed to adopt Dennis, and because of that, I regarded him as an unofficial godfather to the boy.
Fiction book (1994) -
Travis brought with him a good character reference from his last employer.
Fiction book (2001) -
In addition, I present the court two letters of character reference from nationally known authors.
-
It's a stunning character reference too, don't you think?
-
Don't let him bother you, I'll give you a character reference.
-
Nellie wants to adopt, and she needs a character reference from her employer, which she says she'll write herself, but Andy acts like a total jerk about it.
Blog text (1) -
I ask them, don't you find it strange that her friends, her professors, her classmates, her teachers, her pastor, etc. all have a favorable opinion of her and have provided her with character references?
Blog text (22) -
Everyone he'd interviewed had given Miss Atherton a glowing character reference.
-
Do you need a character reference for an upcoming custody hearing?
Synonyms
75
3.0
A written statement from a former boss about your work
35
4.6
A statement, event, or thing that shows thanks and praise for someone
22
7.1
A statement that says someone is reliable and suitable for a job
How Positive
Surface Forms
Morphology
The phrase is a straightforward compositional compound: 'character' (a symbol) combined with 'reference' (something that refers or points to) yields 'a reference to a character' — i.e. an encoding or named entity representing a character. Although the use is technical in computing/HTML, the meaning is directly derivable from the constituents and parallels exist in other languages, so a B1 learner who knows both words can infer the sense.
Etymology
Character reference comes from the simple idea of someone writing about a person's character (their honesty and behaviour) and acting as a reference who points to them. So it became the name for a letter where someone 'recommends' a person to an employer.