See Also: cow face(medicine)
about-face(dictionary)
face(encyclopedia)
face(2)(dictionary)
face(1)(dictionary)
en face(dictionary)
about-face(dictionary)
Face Value(money)
E face(medicine)
Face(medicine)

face(1) (iou)



face noun. ME.
[Old & mod. French from Proto-Romance alt. of Latin facies form, appearance, visage, aspect, prob. rel. to fax torch.]
I. The front of the head.
The front part of the head, from the forehead to the chin; the visage, the countenance; the corresponding part of the head of an animal, insect, or other creature. ME.
E. Baker Norma could see the criminal's face clearly, both full-front and in profile.
b. A representation of a human countenance. L15.
c. (A form of address to) a person, esp. one admired or despised to some degree. slang. E20.
The countenance as a means of expressing feelings, character, etc.; what is shown by one's expression; a grimace. ME.
N. Mosley She made a face as if there was something bitter on her tongue.
b. Command of facial expression; composure, coolness, effrontery. M16.
Longfellow I wonder that any man has the face To call such a hole the House of the Lord.
Sight, presence. Chiefly in phrs. below. ME.
The front part of the head, as the part presented in encounters and confrontations; confrontation, opposition. LME.
The countenance with regard to beauty. L16.
b. Make-up, cosmetics. colloq. E20.
II. The visible part or surface of a thing.
The surface or one of the surfaces of anything. ME.
b. Astrology. One third of a sign of the zodiac, extending over 10 degrees in longitude. LME-E19.
c. An even or polished surface. L19.
Either side of a coin or medal, esp. the side bearing the effigy. Formerly also (slang), a coin. E16.
fig.: R. Hoggart The other side of the coin which has 'sincerity' on its face.
gen. The outer or upper side of a two-sided object; the front as opp. to the back. E17.
G. R. Porter Diagonal lines..across the face of the cloth. E. Beckett The face of a wheel which turns in a gear.
b. The inscribed side of a document etc. M17.
c. The marked or picture side of a playing-card. M17.
a. Architecture. The fa?ade of a building; the exposed surface of a stone in a wall; the front of an arch. E17.
b. gen. The principal side, often vertical or steeply sloping, presented by an object; spec. the front of a cliff, a geological fault, etc. M17.
O. Manning The snow was..sliding wetly down from the rock faces above the houses.
c. An open slope or hillside. NZ. M19.
Each of the surfaces of a solid. E17.
F. Hoyle A uniform cube..resting on one of its faces on the ground.
The dial-plate of a clock or a watch. L17.
R. Davies The big clock's pallid face..said it was a quarter to midnight.
The acting, striking, or working surface of an implement, tool, etc.; the striking surface of a golf club, cricket-bat, hockey-stick, lacrosse-stick, etc. E18.
III. Outward appearance.
External appearance, look; semblance of. Now chiefly of immaterial objects. LME.
J. Bryce The problems of the world..are always putting on new faces.
Outward show; disguise, pretence; a pretext. LME.
Visible state or condition; aspect. L16.
b. The physical conformation of a country. L17.
IV. techn.
Fortification. The outer surface of a wall, esp. of one of the curtain walls of a bastion. L15.
b. Either of two walls in a bastion which form a salient angle. L17.
Typography. The printing surface of type or of a punch; a particular style of type. L17.
bold-face, fat-face, old-face, etc.
Mining. The end of a tunnel, stope, etc., at which work is progressing; the principal surface from which coal is being removed. E18.
B. T. Washington It was..a mile from the opening of the coal-mine to the face of the coal.
Military. Each of the sides of a battalion when it is formed into a square. M19.
V. from the verb.
Ice Hockey & Lacrosse. More fully face-off. The act of facing off (see FACE verb 8). L19.
Phrases: before the face of in the sight of. black in the face: see BLACK adjective. blue in the face: see BLUE adjective 1b. do one's face colloq. apply make-up to one's face. face down, face downwards having the face or front directed downwards. face to face looking one another in the face; directly; clearly. face to faceness directness, clearness. face to face with confronting. face up, face upwards having the face or front directed upwards. fling in a person's face: see FLING verb. fly in the face of openly oppose or disobey. from face to foot rare (Shakes.) from head to toe. grind the faces of: see GRIND verb. have a face as long as a fiddle: see FIDDLE noun. have the face be shameless enough. hide one's face: see HIDE verb1. in face of = in the face of (a) below. in one's face directly at one, straight against one. in the face of (a) in front of; when confronted with; in spite of; (b) in the presence of. in your face (a) used as a derisive insult; (b) in-your-face adjective, blatantly aggressive or provocative; impossible to ignore or avoid. laugh in a person's face: see LAUGH verb. laugh on the other side of one's face, laugh on the wrong side of one's face: see LAUGH verb. long face: see LONG adjective1. look a person in the face confront a person with a steady gaze, implying courage, defiance, etc. lose face [translating Chinese diu lian] be humiliated, lose one's good name or reputation. loss of face humiliation, loss of reputation. make a face = pull a face below. off one's face colloq. drunk or under the influence of illegal drugs. on the face of in the words of. on the face of it fig. obviously, plainly; superficially, apparently. open one's face US slang speak. pull a face: see PULL verb. put a good face on, put a bold face on, etc., make (a matter) look well, face with courage. put a new face on alter the aspect of. put one's face on colloq. apply make-up to one's face. save face, save one's face avoid public humiliation, save one's reputation. set one's face against steadfastly oppose. set one's face like a flint: see FLINT noun & adjective. set one's face to, set one's face towards look or aim towards. show one's face: see SHOW verb. shut one's face slang be quiet, stop talking. SUNDAY face. the acceptable face of the tolerable or attractive manifestation or aspect of. the face of the earth the surface of the earth; anywhere. the unacceptable face of the intolerable or unattractive manifestation or aspect of. three faces under a hood, three faces in a hood: see THREE adjective. to one's face openly in one's sight or hearing; boldly, directly. turn one's face to the wall: see WALL noun1. wash its face: see WASH verb. wipe the off a person's face, wipe the off one's face: see WIPE verb.
Comb.: face-ache (a) neuralgia; (b) slang a mournful-looking person; face-bone the cheek-bone; face-brick US a facing brick; face-card = court-card s.v. COURT noun1; face-centred adjective (of a crystal structure) in which an atom or ion occurs at each vertex and at the centre of each face of the unit cell; face-cloth (a) a cloth for laying over and protecting the face; (b) a woollen fabric with a smooth surface; (c) a cloth for washing the face; face-cream cream applied to the face to improve the complexion; face-flannel = face-cloth (c) above; face-fungus colloq. a man's facial hair, a beard; face-glass the glass window of a diver's helmet; face-guard a mask for protecting the face; face-lift the operation of face-lifting; an improvement in appearance; face-lifting (a) an operation to remove wrinkles by tightening the skin of the face; (b) fig. the refacing or redecoration of a building; face-mask a mask covering the nose and mouth or the nose and eyes; face-off: see sense 20 above; face-pack a preparation designed to help the complexion, spread on the face and removed when dry; face-painter (a) a painter of portraits; (b) one who applies paint to the face; face-painting portrait painting; face-piece (a) a part of the rudder of a ship; (b) a diver's face-glass; (c) a face-mask; face-plate (a) an enlarged end or attachment on the mandrel of a lathe, on which work can be mounted; (b) a plate protecting a piece of machinery; (c) a diver's face-glass; face-play facial movement in acting etc.; face-powder a cosmetic powder for reducing the shine on the face; face-saver a thing or event that saves one's face or saves one from humiliation; face-saving noun & adjective preserving one's reputation, credibility, etc.; face-symbol Crystallography a symbol designating the face or plane of a crystal; face time N. Amer. colloq. (a) time spent in face-to-face contact with someone, esp. one's employer; (b) time spent being filmed or photographed by the media; face value the nominal value as stated on a coin, note, etc.; apparent value or nature, esp. as opp. to actual value; face-worker a miner who works at the coalface.