face

From Middle English face, from Old French face, from Late Latin facia, from Latin faciēs (“form, appearance”). Doublet of facies. Displaced native Displaced Middle English 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.

• (Received Pronunciation, General American) enPR: fās, IPA^(key): /feɪs/
• (Standard Southern British) IPA^(key): /fɛjs/
• (Fiji) IPA^(key): /feːs/

• Audio (General American):

  (file)

• Audio (General Australian):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -eɪs

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 ”, 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. (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. (slang) The mouth.

      Synonyms: cakehole, gob, piehole, trap; see also Thesaurus:mouth

      Shut your face!

      He's always stuffing his face with chips.

   6. (slang) Makeup; one's complete facial cosmetic application.

      I'll be out in a sec. Just let me put on my face.

4. (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, →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

      • 1920, Mary Roberts Rinehart, Avery Hopwood, chapter I, in The Bat: A Novel from the Play (Dell Book; 241), New York, N.Y.: Dell Publishing Company, →OCLC, page 01:

        The Bat—they called him the Bat. Like a bat he chose the night hours for his work of rapine; like a bat he struck and vanished, pouncingly, noiselessly; like a bat he never showed himself to the face of the day.

   7. (metonymically) A person; the self; (reflexively, objectifying) oneself.

      It was just the usual faces at the pub tonight.

      He better not show his face around here no more.

      Coordinate term: ass (see ass § Usage notes)

   8. (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.

      • 1976 June 7, Nik Cohn, “Inside the Tribal Rites of the New Saturday Night”, in New York Magazine‎:

        Vincent was the very best dancer in Bay Ridge—the ultimate Face.

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.
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.

   • 1611, The Holy Bible,  (King James Version), London: Robert Barker, , →OCLC, Genesis 2:6:

     But there went vp a mist from the earth, and watered the whole face of the ground.

   • 1812–1818, Lord Byron, “(please specify |canto=I to IV)”, in Childe Harold’s Pilgrimage. , London: John Murray,, (please specify the stanza number):

     Lake Leman woos me with its crystal face.

   • 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!

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.
    • 1611, The Holy Bible,  (King James Version), London: Robert Barker, , →OCLC, Numbers 6:25:

      The Lord make his face shine vpon thee, and be gracious vnto thee:

    • 1611, The Holy Bible,  (King James Version), London: Robert Barker, , →OCLC, Ezekiel 7:22:

      My face will I turne also from them, and they shall pollute my secret place: for the robbers shall enter into it and defile it.

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

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.

   • 1670, John Milton, “The Second Book”, in The History of Britain, that Part Especially now Call’d England. , London: J M for James Allestry, , →OCLC, page 72:

     He gain'd alſo with his Forces that part of Britain which faces Ireland,

3. (transitive) To cause (something) to turn or present a face or front, as in a particular direction.
   • 1963, Ian Fleming, On Her Majesty's Secret Service:

     The croupier delicately faced her other two cards with the tip of his spatula. A four! She had lost!

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.

   • 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.
    • c. 1590–1592 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Taming of the Shrew”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies  (First Folio), London: Isaac Iaggard, and Ed Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, , page 224, column 2:

      Face not mee: thou haſt brau'd manie men, braue not me; I will neither bee fac'd nor brau'd.

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

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

• in-your-face

• Face on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
• Face (geometry) on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
• Face (hieroglyph) on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
• Face (mining) on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
• Face (sociological concept) on Wikipedia.Wikipedia

• face on Wikipedia.Wikipedia

• MathWorld article on geometrical faces
• Faces in programming
• JavaServer Faces
• Category:face on Wikimedia Commons.Wikimedia Commons

• CAFE, cafe, café, ecaf

• IPA^(key): /faˈħe/
• Hyphenation: fa‧ce

facé (causative facisé)

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

• 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

• 飛士／飞士, 飛屎／飞屎

From English face.

face

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

• English Loanwords in Hong Kong Cantonese

• Face

• IPA^(key): /ˈfɑse/,
• Rhymes: -ɑse
• Hyphenation^(key): fa‧ce

face (informal)

1. Clipping of Facebook.

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

• insta

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

• IPA^(key): /fas/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Homophones: faces, fasce, fasse, fassent, fasses
• Rhymes: -as

face f (plural faces)

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

• aspect
• figure
• surface
• tête
• visage

• “face”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé , 2012.

• café

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

face f (plural facis)

1. facePrologue

face

1. present of facer
2. imperative of facer

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

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, 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

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

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 imperative active of faciō

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

• IPA^(key): /ˈfaː.s(ə)/

face (plural faces)

1. (anatomy) face

   Synonyms: cheer, visage

   • 1387–1400, [Geoffrey] Chaucer, “Here Bygynneth the Book of the Tales of Caunt́burẏ”, in The Tales of Caunt́bury (Hengwrt Chaucer; Peniarth Manuscript 392D), Aberystwyth, Ceredigion: National Library of Wales, published , →OCLC:

     Boold was hir face, and fair, and reed of hewe.

     Bold was her face, and fair, and red of hue.

• English: face (see there for further descendants)
• Geordie English: fyece
• Scots: face
• Yola: faace

• “fāce, n.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007.

face

1. Alternative form of fass

• fache (northern)

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. 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

• vis (more common)
• visage
• volt

• Middle French: face
  • French: face
• Norman: fache, fach (Sark)
• → Middle English: face (see there for further descendants)

Portuguese Wikipedia has an article on:

face

Wikipedia ^pt

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

• Hyphenation: fa‧ce

face f (plural faces)

1. (anatomy, geometry) face

   Synonyms: cara, rosto

2. (anatomy) the cheek

   Synonym: bochecha

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

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 loan translation of Greek κάνω (káno).

• IPA^(key): /ˈfat͡ʃe/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Audio:

  (file)

• Rhymes: -at͡ʃe
• Hyphenation: fa‧ce

a face (third-person singular present face, past participle făcut) 3rd conj.

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
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.

• avea a face
• afacere
• cum se face
• desface
• face cu mâna
• face dragoste
• facere
• făcător
• preface
• reface
• tăcea și face

• fapt

• face in DEX online—Dicționare ale limbii române (Dictionaries of the Romanian language)

• IPA^(key): (Spain) /ˈfaθe/
• IPA^(key): (Latin America, Philippines) /ˈfase/
• Rhymes: -aθe
• Rhymes: -ase
• Syllabification: fa‧ce

face

1. third-person singular present indicative of facer