face - Wiktionary, the free dictionary (original) (raw)

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary

Proto-Indo-European *dʰh₁kyéti

Proto-Italic *θakjō

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.

face

face

Click on labels in the image

face (plural faces)

  1. (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. […]’
  2. (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[1] (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[2] (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.
  3. (figurative)
    1. 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[3], →ISSN:
        As the film points out, the actor became known as “the face of Aids”.
    2. Good reputation; standing, in the eyes of others; dignity; prestige.
      lose face
      save face
    3. 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.
    4. 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.
    5. (figurative) Presence; sight; front.
      to fly in the face of danger
      to speak before the face of God
    6. (synecdochic) 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.
    7. (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.
    8. (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.
  4. 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)‎[5], 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.
  5. The directed force of something.
    They turned the boat into the face of the storm.
  6. 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.
    • 2008, BioWare, Mass Effect (Science Fiction), Redwood City: Electronic Arts, →ISBN, →OCLC, PC, scene: Normandy SR-1:
      Captain Anderson: He has the secrets from the beacon. He has an army of geth at his command. And he won't stop until he's wiped humanity from the face of the galaxy!
  7. (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.
  8. (cricket) The front surface of a bat.
  9. (golf) The part of a golf club that hits the ball.
  10. (heraldry) The head of a lion, shown face-on and cut off immediately behind the ears.
  11. (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).
  12. (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.
  13. (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
  14. (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.
  15. (typography) A typeface.
  1. A mode of regard, whether favourable or unfavourable; favour or anger.

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”‎[6]:
      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 or dialectal) To confront impudently; to bully.
  1. (transitive) To cover in front, for ornament, protection, etc.; to put a facing upon.
    a building faced with marble
  1. (transitive) To line near the edge, especially with a different material.
    to face the front of a coat, or the bottom of a dress
  2. 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.
  3. (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
  4. (transitive, slang) To smoke (as, a joint or blunt) entirely by oneself.
    He faced that blunt in ten minutes.

position oneself towards

have its front closest to

to have the front in a certain direction

Translations to be checked

face (not comparable)

  1. (slang, of hallucinating from drug use) Intensely.
    He's tripping face.
    She must be rolling face.

facé (causative facisé)

  1. (intransitive) boil
  2. (intransitive) ferment
Conjugation of face (type II verb)
1st singular 2nd singular 3rd singular 1st plural 2nd plural 3rd plural
m f
perfective V-affirmative facéh factéh facéh factéh facnéh facteeníh faceeníh
N-affirmative facé facté facé facté facné factén facén
negative máfacinniyo máfacinnito máfacinna máfacinna máfacinnino máfacinniton máfacinnon
imperfective V-affirmative facáh factáh facáh factáh facnáh factaanáh facaanáh
N-affirmative facá factá facá factá facná factán facán
negative máfaca máfacta máfaca máfacta máfacna máfactan máfacan
prospective V-affirmative facéliyohfacéyyoh facélitohfacéttoh facéleh facéleh facélinohfacénnoh facélitoonuhfacéttoonuh facéloonuh
N-affirmative facéliyofacéyyo facélitofacétto facéle facéle facélinofacénno facélitonfacétton facélon
conjunctive I V-affirmative fácuh fáctuh fácuh fáctuh fácuh factóonuh facóonuh
N-affirmative fácu fáctu fácu fáctu fácu factón facón
negative facé wáyuh facé wáytuh facé wáyuh facé wáytuh facé wáynuh facé waytóonuh facé wóonuh
conjunctive II V-affirmative facánkeh factánkeh facánkeh factánkeh facnánkeh factaanánkeh facaanánkeh
N-affirmative facánke factánke facánke factánke facnánke factaanánke facaanánke
negative facé wáankeh facé waytánkeh facé wáankeh facé waytánkeh facé waynánkeh facé waytaanánkeh facé wáankeh
jussive affirmative fácay fáctay fácay fáctay fácnay factóonay facóonay
negative facé wáay facé wáytay facé wáay facé wáytay facé wáynay facé waytóonay facé wóonay
pastconditional affirmative facinniyóy facinnitóy facinnáy facinnáy facinninóy facinnitoonúy facinnoonúy
negative facé wanniyóy facé wannitóy facé wannáy facé wannáy facé wanninóy facé wannitoonúy facé wanninoonúy
presentconditional I affirmative facék facték facék facték facnék facteeník faceeník
negative facé wéek facé wayték facé wéek facé wayték facé waynék facé wayteeník facé weeník
singular plural singular plural
consultative affirmative facóo facnóo imperative affirmative fác fáca
negative mafacóo mafacnóo negative máfacin máfacina
-h converb -i form -k converb -in(n)uh converb -innuk converb infinitive indefinite participle
V-focus N-focus
fácah fáci fácak facínnuh facínnuk facíyya facináanih facináan
Compound tenses dependent verb sequential perfective + -m simultaneous imperfective + -m past perfect affirmative perfective + perfective of én or sugé present perfect affirmative perfective + imperfective of én future perfect affirmative perfective + prospective of sugé past progressive -k converb + imperfective of én or sugé present progressive affirmative imperfect + imperfective of én future progressive -k converb + prospective of sugé immediate future affirmative conjunctive I + imperfective of wée imperfect potential I affirmative conjunctive I + imperfective of takké imperfect potential II affirmative imperfective + -m + takké negative **facé + imperfective of wée + -m + takké perfect potential affirmative perfective + -m + takké negative **facé + perfective of wée + -m + takké presentconditional II affirmative imperfective + object pronoun + tekkék negative **facé + perfective of wée + object pronoun + tekkék perfect conditional affirmative perfective + imperfective of sugé + -k negative perfective + sugé + imperfective of wée -k irrealis **facé + perfective of xaaxé or raaré

From English face.

face

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

face (informal)

  1. clipping of Facebook

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

face f (plural faces)

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

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

face f (plural facis)

  1. face

face

  1. present of facer
  2. imperative of facer

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

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[8], 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

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

face

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

face

  1. ablative singular of fax

face

  1. second-person singular present active imperative of faciō

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

face (plural faces)

  1. (anatomy) face
    Synonyms: cheer, visage

face

  1. alternative form of fass

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

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

  1. (anatomy) 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 […]

face

Proto-Indo-European *dʰh₁kyéti

Proto-Italic *θakjō

Old Galician-Portuguese façe

Portuguese face

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

face f (plural faces)

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

Inherited from Latin facere. The original past participle fapt (< Latin factus) has been replaced by an analogical form. An alternative third-person simple perfect, fece (< Latin fēcit) was also found in some dialects.[1] The sense of “to cost” is likely a calque of Greek κάνω (káno).

a face (third-person singular present **face, past participle făcut, third-person subjunctive facă) 3rd conjugation

  1. (transitive) to do, act
    Fă ce vrei. ― Do what you want.
    Azi am făcut niște treburi obositoare.
    Today I did some tiring things.
    Ce faci când ajungi acasă?
    What do you do when you get home?
  2. (transitive) to make (construct, build, prepare, create, transform)
    Mama face mâncare. ― Mother is making food.
    Aici o să se facă niște case noi.
    Some new homes will be built here.
    În fiecare săptămână îmi fac programul.
    Every week I am making my schedule.
  3. (transitive) to cause someone to do something
    A făcut ușa să nu mai scârțâie.
    He made the door stop creaking.
    O să te fac să-ți pese. ― I’ll make you care.
    Când am văzut asta, m-a făcut să pufnesc în râs.
    When I saw this, it made me burst out laughing.
  4. (transitive) to make (render a certain way, turn into)
    Covorul face mersul în casă mai silențios.
    The carpet makes walking in the house less noisy.
    Camera asta o s-o facem sufragerie.
    We’ll make this room into a living room.
  5. (transitive, potentially childish) give birth to someone
    Mama l-a făcut la 28 de ani.
    His mother had him at 28.
  6. (transitive) to develop a disease or certain physical features
  7. (transitive, colloquial) call names
  8. (transitive) to cover a certain distance
  9. (transitive, informal) to become a certain age
  10. (transitive) to turn one’s path to a certain direction
  11. (intransitive) to cost
  12. (impersonal, uncommon) to be advantageous, worth it to do something
  13. (intransitive) to imitate or pretend to be something else, mockingly, deceitfully or humorously [_with_ **pe**]
  14. (reflexive) to pretend
  15. (reflexive) to become or turn into
  16. (reflexive) to become (adopt a career or path in life)
  17. (reflexive, idiomatic, colloquial) to acquire, get hold of something on short notice
  18. (reflexive, colloquial, chiefly imperative, somewhat rude) to come over immediately, get over here
  19. (reflexive, with ce in direct or indirect questions) to deal with a situation
  20. (reflexive) Introduces a narrative of a vision or a dream.
  21. (reflexive, with dative, of feelings or sensations) to arise, get hold of somebody
  22. (reflexive, impersonal) to get (become, change state)
    Se face târziu. ― It’s getting late.
  1. ^ https://archive.org/details/grundrissderroma00gruoft

face

  1. third-person singular present indicative of facer