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face

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary

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See also: fáce, facé, and Face

English

Etymology

Etymology tree
Proto-Indo-European *dʰeh₁-?
Late Latin faciēs
Late Latin facia
Old French facebor.
Middle English face
English face

    From Middle English face, from Old French face, from Late Latin facia, from Latin faciēs (“form, appearance”). Doublet of facies. Displaced native onlete (“face, countenance, appearance”), anleth (“face”), from Old English anwlite, andwlita, compare German Antlitz; Old English ansīen (“face”), Middle English neb (“face, nose”) (from Old English nebb), Middle English ler, leor, leer (“face, cheek, countenance”) (from Old English hlēor), and non-native Middle English vis (“face, appearance, look”) (from Old French vis) and Middle English chere (“face”) from Old French chere.

    In the sense of face as in reputation, influenced by Chinese 面子 (miànzi) or 臉／脸 (liǎn), both of which mean literally the front of the head and metaphorically one's public image. See lose face.

    Pronunciation

    Noun

    face (plural faces)

    2. (anatomy) The front part of the head of a human or other animal, featuring the eyes, nose, and mouth, and the surrounding area.
      Synonyms: dial, mug, mush, (obsolete) phiz, (obsolete) phizog, punim, visage, pan; see also Thesaurus:countenance
      That girl has a pretty face.
      The monkey pressed its face against the railings.
      • 1918, W[illiam] B[abington] Maxwell, chapter X, in The Mirror and the Lamp, Indianapolis, Ind.: The Bobbs-Merrill Company, →OCLC:
        It was a joy to snatch some brief respite, and find himself in the rectory drawing–room. Listening here was as pleasant as talking; just to watch was pleasant. The young priests who lived here wore cassocks and birettas; their faces were fine and mild, yet really strong, like the rector's face; and in their intercourse with him and his wife they seemed to be brothers.
      • 1963, Margery Allingham, chapter 7, in The China Governess: A Mystery, London: Chatto & Windus, →OCLC:
        ‘Children crawled over each other like little grey worms in the gutters,’ he said. ‘The only red things about them were their buttocks and they were raw. Their faces looked as if snails had slimed on them and their mothers were like great sick beasts whose byres had never been cleared. […]’
    3. (informal or slang)
      1. One's facial expression.
        Synonyms: countenance, expression, facial expression, look, visage; see also Thesaurus:facial expression, Thesaurus:countenance
        Why the sad face?
      2. (in expressions such as make a face) A distorted facial expression; an expression of displeasure, insult, etc.
        Children! Stop making faces at each other!
      3. (informal) The amount expressed on a bill, note, bond, etc., without any interest or discount; face value.
        • 1966 November, “Classified Opportunity Mart: Stamp Collecting [advertisement]”, in Popular Science Monthly, volume 189, number 5, page 229:
          MAKE Money-wholesale U.S. stamps—buy mint stamps below face. Be a dealer. Send $1.00 for two giant catalogs, refunded first order. Von Stein, Bernardsville, N.J.
        • 1995 January 18, Ed Jackson, “Re: US sheets -- Sell for how much?”, in rec.collecting.stamps‎ (Usenet):
          With certain exceptions for valuable stamps, dealers and many collectors are only willing to offer a percentage of face (80-90%). So instead, Lloyd took the sheets to work and posted a message asking if anyone wanted to buy sheets of old U.S. stamps at face.
        • 2005 March 16, Cliff, “Re: This sounds like a newbie question....”, in rec.collecting.coins‎ (Usenet):
          Talking about buying below face, I've bought a lot of rolled coins at below face. I'm not going to pay face just to drag them to the bank and deposit them.
      4. (slang) The mouth.
        Synonyms: cakehole, gob, piehole, trap; see also Thesaurus:mouth
        Shut your face!
        He's always stuffing his face with chips.
      5. (slang) Makeup; one's complete facial cosmetic application.
        I'll be out in a sec. Just let me put on my face.
    4. (figurative)
      2. Public image; outward appearance.
        Synonyms: image, public image, reputation
        Our chairman is the face of this company.
        He managed to show a bold face despite his embarrassment.
        • 2023 October 6, Ryan Gilbey, “The double life of Rock Hudson: ‘Let’s be frank, he was a horndog!’”, in The Guardian‎, →ISSN:
          As the film points out, the actor became known as “the face of Aids”.
      3. Good reputation; standing, in the eyes of others; dignity; prestige.
        lose face
        save face
      4. Shameless confidence; boldness; effrontery.
        You've got some face coming round here after what you've done.
        • a. 1694, John Tillotson, Preface to The Works
          This is the man that has the face to charge others with false citations.
      5. An aspect of the character or nature of someone or something.
        This is a face of her that we have not seen before.
        Poverty is the ugly face of capitalism.
      6. (figurative) Presence; sight; front.
        to fly in the face of danger
        to speak before the face of God
      8. (synecdochically) A person; the self; (reflexively) oneself.
        Coordinate term: ass (see ass § Usage notes)
        It was just the usual faces at the pub tonight.
        He better not show his face around here no more.
      9. (informal) A familiar or well-known person; a member of a particular scene, such as the music or fashion scene.
        He owned several local businesses and was a face around town.
      10. (professional wrestling, slang) A headlining wrestler with a persona embodying heroic or virtuous traits and who is regarded as a "good guy", especially one who is handsome and well-conditioned; a baby face.
        Synonyms: good guy, hero
        Antonym: heel
        The fans cheered on the face as he made his comeback.
    5. The frontal aspect of something.
      Synonym: foreside
      The face of the cliff loomed above them.
      • 2021 February 3, Drachinifel, 17:16 from the start, in Guadalcanal Campaign - Santa Cruz (IJN 2 : 2 USN)‎, archived from the original on 4 December 2022:
        Then, the torpedo bombers arrived, but, unlike those that had dealt Hornet such a heavy blow, these split their attention between Enterprise, South Dakota, Portland, and the rather-bewildered destroyer USS Smith, which got a damaged Kate and its torpedo to the face for its trouble.
      1. The numbered dial of a clock or watch; the clock face.
        • 1980, AA Book of British Villages, Drive Publications Ltd, page 163:
          An interesting feature of the church is the invisible clock, which you can hear thumping away as you enter. Constructed in 1525, it is one of the oldest timepieces in England. It chimes the hours and the quarters, and every three hours it plays a hymn. But it has no faces.
    6. The directed force of something.
      They turned the boat into the face of the storm.
    7. Any surface, especially a front or outer one.
      Put a big sign on each face of the building that can be seen from the road.
      They climbed the north face of the mountain.
      She wanted to wipe him off the face of the earth.
    8. (geometry) Any of the flat bounding surfaces of a polyhedron; more generally, any of the bounding pieces of a polytope of any dimension.
      Synonyms: (different specialised meaning in mathematical use) facet, (not in mathematical use) surface
      A cube has six faces, each of which is a square.
    9. (cricket) The front surface of a bat.
    10. (golf) The part of a golf club that hits the ball.
    11. (heraldry) The head of a lion, shown face-on and cut off immediately behind the ears.
    12. (card games) The side of the card that shows its value (as opposed to the back side, which looks the same on all cards of the deck).
    13. (video games, TCGs, uncountable) The player character, especially as opposed to minions or other entities which might absorb damage instead of the player character.
      When playing aggro decks, hit face whenever you can; it's not worth spending your resources to try to control the board.
    14. (mechanics) The width of a pulley, or the length of a cog from end to end.
      a pulley or cog wheel of ten inches face
    15. (mining) The exposed surface of the mineral deposit where it is being mined. Also the exposed end surface of a tunnel where digging may still be in progress.
    16. (typography) A typeface.
      • 1982 August 28, Mark McHarry, “A Minor Delight”, in Gay Community News, volume 10, number 7, page 12:
        For the typophiles reading this, the book is attractively designed. It is set in Classic Aldine, a handsome face akin to the more popular Palatino. The designer's work is unfortunately marred by indifferent printing.
    17. A mode of regard, whether favourable or unfavourable; favour or anger.

    Hyponyms

    Hyponyms of face (noun)

    Derived terms

    Terms derived from face (noun)
    Terms related to face

    Descendants

    • Sranan Tongo: fesi
    • → Danish: fjæs
    • → Norwegian:
      • Norwegian Bokmål: fjes
      • Norwegian Nynorsk: fjes
    • → Swedish: fejs, fjäs
    • → Wu: 番斯 (1fe-sy)

    Translations

    See face/translations § Noun.

    Verb

    face (third-person singular simple present faces, present participle facing, simple past and past participle faced)

    1. (transitive, of a person or animal) To position oneself or itself so as to have one's face closest to (something).
      Face the sun.
      • 1910, Emerson Hough, chapter I, in The Purchase Price: Or The Cause of Compromise, Indianapolis, Ind.: The Bobbs-Merrill Company, →OCLC:
        Serene, smiling, enigmatic, she faced him with no fear whatever showing in her dark eyes. The clear light of the bright autumn morning had no terrors for youth and health like hers.
    2. (transitive, of an object) To have its front closest to, or in the direction of (something else).
      Turn the chair so it faces the table.
    3. (transitive) To cause (something) to turn or present a face or front, as in a particular direction.
    4. (transitive, retail) To improve the display of stock by ensuring items aren't upside down or back to front and are pulled forwards.
      I've put out the stock and broken down the boxes, it's just facing left to do.
      In my first job, I learned how to operate a till and to face the store to high standards.
    5. (transitive) To be presented or confronted with; to have in prospect.
      We are facing an uncertain future.
      • 1956 March, R. C. Blaker, “The Hedjaz Railway”, in Railway Magazine, page 167:
        The railway is still vital to Jordan's export trade, but in spite of the poor quality of the road, diesel lorries are gradually robbing it of freight traffic, and anyone who can afford to fly does so rather than face the long desert journey by rail.
      • 2008, BioWare, Mass Effect (Science Fiction), Redwood City: Electronic Arts, →ISBN, →OCLC, PC, scene: Citadel:
        Ambassador Udina: The other species are scared. They've never faced anything like this before and they don't know what to do.
    6. (transitive) To deal with (a difficult situation or person); to accept (facts, reality, etc.) even when undesirable.
      I'm going to have to face this sooner or later.
      • 1681, John Dryden, The Spanish Fryar: Or, the Double Discovery. […], London: […] Richard Tonson and Jacob Tonson, […], →OCLC, (please specify the page number):
        I'll face / This tempest, and deserve the name of king.
      • 2013 June 7, Joseph Stiglitz, “Globalisation is about taxes too”, in The Guardian Weekly, volume 188, number 26, page 19:
        It is time the international community faced the reality: we have an unmanageable, unfair, distortionary global tax regime. It is a tax system that is pivotal in creating the increasing inequality that marks most advanced countries today […].
      • 2013 June 8, “Obama goes troll-hunting”, in The Economist, volume 407, number 8839, page 55:
        According to this saga of intellectual-property misanthropy, these creatures [patent trolls] roam the business world, buying up patents and then using them to demand extravagant payouts from companies they accuse of infringing them. Often, their victims pay up rather than face the costs of a legal battle.
      • 2020 August 26, “Network News: Mid-September before line reopens, says Network Rail”, in Rail, page 10:
        Network Rail doesn't expect the line through Carmont to open for around a month, as it faces the mammoth task of recovering the two power cars and four coaches from ScotRail's wrecked train, repairing bridge 325, stabilising earthworks around the landslip, and replacing the track.
      • 2022, Vane, “Six Feet Under”‎:
        I'm breaking down, breaking down at the thought of you
        I keep breaking down, breaking down over you again
        I can't face, can't face that you’re happier
        And so, I'm stuck rotting six feet under
    7. (intransitive) To have the front in a certain direction.
      The seats in the carriage faced backwards.
    8. (transitive) To have as an opponent.
      Real Madrid face Juventus in the quarter-finals.
      • 2011 September 2, Phil McNulty, “Bulgaria 0-3 England”, in BBC:
        And a further boost to England's qualification prospects came after the final whistle when Wales recorded a 2-1 home win over group rivals Montenegro, who Capello's men face in their final qualifier.
    9. (intransitive, cricket) To be the batsman on strike.
      Willoughby comes in to bowl, and it's Hobson facing.
    10. (transitive, obsolete) To confront impudently; to bully.
    11. (transitive) To cover in front, for ornament, protection, etc.; to put a facing upon.
      a building faced with marble
      • 1907, Ronald M. Burrows, The Discoveries In Crete, page 7:
        These upper walls seem mainly to have been formed, not of sun- or fire-baked bricks, as at Gournia or Palaikastro, but of clay or rubble, coated with plaster or faced with gypsum slabs.
    12. (transitive) To line near the edge, especially with a different material.
      to face the front of a coat, or the bottom of a dress
    13. To cover with better, or better appearing, material than the mass consists of, for purpose of deception, as the surface of a box of tea, a barrel of sugar, etc.
    15. (engineering) To make the surface of (anything) flat or smooth; to dress the face of (a stone, a casting, etc.); especially, in turning, to shape or smooth the flat (transverse) surface of, as distinguished from the cylindrical (axial) surface.
      Hyponym: spotface

    Synonyms

    • (position oneself/itself towards):
    • (have its front closest to):
    • (deal with): confront, deal with

    Derived terms

    Terms related to face (verb)

    Translations

    The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.
    Translations to be checked

    See also

    References

    Further reading

    Anagrams

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    Afar

    Pronunciation

    • IPA(key): /faˈħe/ [fʌˈħɛ]
    • Hyphenation: fa‧ce

    Verb

    facé (causative facisé)

    1. (intransitive) boil
    2. (intransitive) ferment

    Conjugation

    More information Conjugation of (type II verb), 1st singular ...

    References

    • E. M. Parker; R. J. Hayward (1985), “face”, in An Afar-English-French dictionary (with Grammatical Notes in English), University of London, →ISBN
    • Mohamed Hassan Kamil (2015), L’afar: description grammaticale d’une langue couchitique (Djibouti, Erythrée et Ethiopie)‎, Paris: Université Sorbonne Paris Cité (doctoral thesis), page 280
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    Chinese

    Alternative forms

    • 飛士 / 飞士, 飛屎 / 飞屎

    Etymology

    From English face.

    Pronunciation

    Noun

    face

    1. (Hong Kong Cantonese) face (reputation; dignity)

    References

    Finnish

    Alternative forms

    Pronunciation

    • IPA(key): /ˈfɑse/, [ˈfɑ̝s̠e̞]
    • Rhymes: -ɑse
    • Syllabification(key): fa‧ce
    • Hyphenation(key): fa‧ce

    Proper noun

    face (informal)

    1. clipping of Facebook

    Usage notes

    • Facebook is generally pronounced approximately following the English pronunciation (/feispu:k/), while this term is not.

    Declension

    More information nominative, genitive ...
    More information first-person singular possessor, singular ...

    See also

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    French

    Etymology

    Inherited from Middle French and Old French face, from Late Latin facia, from Latin faciēs (“face, shape”). Doublet of faciès.

    Pronunciation

    Noun

    face f (plural faces)

    1. (anatomy) face
    2. surface, side
    3. (geometry) face
    4. head (of a coin)

    Derived terms

    Descendants

    • → Luxembourgish: Face

    See also

    Further reading

    Anagrams

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    Friulian

    Etymology

    From Late Latin facia, from Latin faciēs (“face, shape”).

    Noun

    face f (plural facis)

    1. face

    Interlingua

    Verb

    face

    1. present of facer
    2. imperative of facer

    Italian

    Pronunciation

    • IPA(key): /ˈfa.t͡ʃe/
    • Rhymes: -atʃe
    • Hyphenation: fà‧ce

    Etymology 1

    Learned borrowing from Latin facem (“torch, firebrand”).

    Noun

    face f (plural faci)

    1. (poetic) torch
      Synonyms: fiaccola, torcia
      • 1573, Torquato Tasso, Aminta, act I, lines 682–4:
        Allor tra fiori e linfe / traen dolci carole / gli Amoretti senz'archi e senza faci […]
        So among flowers and springs cupids partake in gentle dances without arches nor torches.
      • 1827, Ugo Foscolo, Le grazie‎, Felice Le Monnier, published 1848, page 42:
        […] vide […] ¶ Aiace […] ¶ Fra le dardanie faci arso e splendente ¶ Scagliar rotta la spada, e trarsi l'elmo, ¶ E fulminare immobile col guardo ¶ Ettore che perplesso ivi si tenne
        She saw Ajax, burning and shining among the Trojan torches, throw away the broken sword, and take off his helm, and, immobile, stare down Hector, who stood there perplexed.
    2. (poetic, by extension) light
      Synonyms: luce, lume, splendore

    Further reading

    • face in Treccani.it – Vocabolario Treccani on line, Istituto dell'Enciclopedia Italiana

    Etymology 2

    See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

    Verb

    face

    1. (archaic, poetic) alternative form of fa, third-person singular present indicative of fare
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    Latin

    Pronunciation

    Etymology 1

    Noun

    face

    1. ablative singular of fax

    Etymology 2

    Verb

    face

    1. second-person singular present active imperative of faciō

    Middle English

    Etymology 1

      Borrowed from Old French face, from Late Latin facia, from Latin faciēs.

      Pronunciation

      Noun

      face (plural faces)

      1. (anatomy) face
        Synonyms: cheer, visage
      Descendants
      • English: face (see there for further descendants)
      • Geordie: fyece
      • Scots: face
      • Yola: faace
      References

      Etymology 2

      Noun

      face

      1. alternative form of fass
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      Old French

      Alternative forms

      Etymology

        From Late Latin facia, from Latin faciēs (“face, shape”).

        Noun

        face oblique singular, f (oblique plural faces, nominative singular face, nominative plural faces)

        1. (anatomy) face
          • c. 1170, Chrétien de Troyes, Érec et Énide:
            Le chief li desarme et la face.
            He exposed his head and his face.
          • c. 1155, Wace, Le Roman de Brut:
            Li rois regarda li deus freres
            A cors bien fais, a faces cleres
            The king looked at the two brothers
            With their well-built bodies and clear faces
          • 1377, Bernard de Gordon, Fleur de lis de medecine (a.k.a. lilium medicine), page 148 of this essay:
            Les signes subsequens est face enflée […]
            the symptoms are the following: swollen face […]

        Synonyms

        Descendants

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        Portuguese

        Portuguese Wikipedia has an article on:
        Wikipedia pt

        Etymology

        From Old Galician-Portuguese façe, faz, from Latin faciēs. Doublet of fácies.

        Pronunciation

         

        • Hyphenation: fa‧ce

        Noun

        face f (plural faces)

        1. (anatomy, geometry) face
          Synonyms: cara, rosto
        2. (anatomy) the cheek
          Synonym: bochecha

        References

        • “façe” in Dicionario de dicionarios do galego medieval.

        Further reading

        Romanian

        Spanish

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