'Portrait' is Latin for 'drawn forth' — an artistic likeness pulled from concealment into visibility.
A painting, drawing, photograph, or engraving of a person, especially one depicting only the face or head and shoulders; a verbal description or representation of someone.
From French 'portrait,' past participle of Old French 'portraire' (to portray, draw, depict), from Latin 'prōtrahere,' meaning to draw forth, reveal, or bring to light. The Latin verb combines 'prō-' (forth, forward) and 'trahere' (to draw, pull, drag), from Proto-Indo-European *dʰregʰ- (to draw, drag). The semantic development moved from 'drawing forth' (physically pulling) to 'drawing forth' (artistically depicting
Latin 'trahere' (to draw, pull) is one of the most productive verb roots in English. It produced 'portrait' (drawn forth), 'abstract' (drawn away), 'attract' (drawn toward), 'contract' (drawn together), 'distract' (drawn apart), 'extract' (drawn out), 'subtract' (drawn from below), 'tractor' (puller), and 'train' (something drawn along). A portrait is literally something 'drawn forth' — an inner likeness pulled into visibility.